At Your Service, Captain!
by JkawaiiNeko
Summary: COMPLETE. After Cress lands on Earth all alone she meets Thorne, the millionaire playboy, and becomes his live-in maid. As they start to grow feelings for each other their pasts start to haunt them, causing Cress and Thorne to struggle with battling each other's demons.
1. Chapter 1

**While this story will have a great focus on the adorable Thorne and Cress, I am planning on having the other characters involved in one way or another. Enjoy and please review, for reviews give me inspiration! Thanks Lunatics!**

* * *

Cress could remeber exactly how she felt the moment she had stepped foot onto Earth for the first time. She had just crashed down in her satellite- finally escaped from Sybil's watching eye.

Finally, free.

At first she had been shocked that she had survived the crash and sat still buckled into her seat blinking. But as soon as she had dared to emerge from the satellite and her bare feet had touched the ground, feeling the cool and thick mud as her feet sank into it both fascinated and slightly repelled her. All at once her senses were bombarded. The sensation of the heavy rain pelting down on her body and soaking through her thin dress made her feel like she would drown but she knew better from the vast amount of research she had done on Earth.

She stuck her tongue out as she had seen a girl in a net-drama do, tasting the water pouring down from the heavens. She laughed and spread her arms out, twirling around in unsuppressed glee.

Freedom.

Once she had gotten enough of the rain, finding that she was suddenly _freezing,_ she had at first been at a loss for what to do. Her satellite was mostly destroyed, but she did manage to salvage a few essentials such as food and water from it. She had hunkered under a particularly large part of the wreckage, drying off with a blanket then trying to seal herself in its warmth until morning.

When the sun had risen and warmed her efficiently, she drank some water and ate some of the dried food. She then trekked in a random direction, hoping she would find civilization soon.

What she found was railroad tracks.

A woman with dark hair and tattered clothes had taken one look at Cress when the train stopped and grabbed her on board. From there, Cress had traveled with other stowaways, who had helped her stay on board the train without getting caught.

When they had asked where she was headed she simply replied with a small smile, "the city" because many net-dramas, movies, and tv shows occurred in "the city." She wanted to be surrounded by people, fun and relationships.

Nearly two months later, stuck in New York with no money and nothing to her name, Cress sat in the rain with completely different feelings than she had originally had about "the city". She huddled closer into her box, which was slowly but surely being destroyed by the down-pour, picking up the chipped cup she begged for spare change with and stared at her five measly bucks, which was actually more than she had expected to get since she did not have a cool talent or even a sign like the other beggars.

She was cold and hungry. Free, but miserable.

Of course, her original plan when she was still in the satellite had been to fly down to on a stolen ship to Africa where most of the other escapee Lunars were, but that plan had been totally destroyed.

She wished for the umpteenth time that she weren't a shell - that she could glamour someone into giving her a warm meal or a place to stay. Unfortunately, that thought made Cress feel even worse about herself. The fact that she wanted to manipulate someone made her feel sick.

But no one here would listen to her! Not that she had much courage to try too hard or assert herself, but no one wanted some girl with no resume in their business.

Practically starving, she mused on the thought that she could be feeling like a person with the Lunar sickness might feel as the same crazy thought that had been plaguing her for weeks came back. Cress could only think of one thing to do to get her out of this situation.

She would put her brilliant mind to good use and hack her way in to a good life. A new identity, fake records, and money.

Then she would never do wrong again.

* * *

When she had been hacking for Sybil, she had done it at one time with a sort of glee, then she had done it robotically as if it were second nature once she figured out that there would be no reward for it.

But now she was sweating and her heart was beating crazy-fast.

Somehow, this just seemed so wrong. And terrifying.

All she had to do was press ENTER and her new life would be complete. All of the preparations were done. She would not be the Lunar shell, Crescent. She would be the human _with money_ , Rapunzel Rider.

She had snuck into a building where she knew the technology was top-notch hours after it had closed and only a few security guards were around she had managed to shut down the back gate's defenses with just a portscreen and connector cable she had stolen from a woman's purse. She had been scoping out this place for weeks and once she had infiltrated it, she had managed to turn off the cameras she needed to and avoid the security without much hassle by causing an alarm to go off in another room.

Once she had entered the computer lab, it had been easy to finish the preparations she had been able to make on the portscreen. All she needed to do was have the documents printed and the money transferred into an account.

Her finger shook as she raised it, preparing to drop it on that final key.

"Well, hello there."

"Eep!" Cress squeaked, her body tensing upon hearing the voice. She quickly exited out of the screen. She swallowed hard, then slowly turned to look over her shoulder.

Her eyes widened.

She had seen this face more times than she could remember from her satellite. Carswell Thorne. Millionaire Play-Boy.

She had known this was his facility, but she had never expected him to be here at this time of night. She definitely had not been expecting him to be in this very room.

Hands and knees shaking, she slowly stood from the chair, though she wasn't sure why. Thorne looked even stronger and handsome in real life than he did on the screen. Not to say that he was a heavyweight by any means, but he had a sort of lean-muscle to him that Cress knew she would never be able to outmatch.

Especially since she was just skin and bones and she would never be able to run away fast enough from a healthy man such as Thorne.

He raised his eyebrows and stared into her blue eyes, "wow, you're short."

Cress felt her face heat in embarrassment.

"I- I was just leaving," she tried to say casually, as if she were _supposed_ to be there. Maybe Thorne would think she was just a worker who had stayed late. But at his frown, she remembered what she was wearing. The dress she had come out of the satellite in was torn enough to seem like a frayed t-shirt and the jeans she had gotten from a homeless shelter had holes and tears and was so faded that they could never count for a fashion statement. Her hair was ridiculously long, dirty and ungroomed, having never been cut by Sybil or herself and not washed recently.

Cress went from embarrassed to absolutely mortified. Thorne was impeccable in his tailored suit, combed hair and clean-shaven face.

He slowly starting to grin- a genuinely amused and intrigued grin that made Cress want to crawl back into her satellite's wreckage and never come out.

"I have _got_ to hear this story," he said simply, reaching out a hand for her to take.

When she did not respond, he slowly took it- her grimy, dirty hand with dirt caked beneath her fingernails, and led her out of the room.

* * *

Once assured that she security threat and random camera-outages were not an issue and checked Cress for any weapons, the security team had begrudgingly let Cress walk out of the front door with Thorne, who seemed to find this whole predicament absolutely hilarious.

He had opened the door for her to his sleek black car personally, causing the driver to raise his eyebrows in question. He even slid in next to her and had the driver roll up the partition so that they could speak in private.

"I know you're probably thinking 'oh man, why am I getting into a vehicle with a complete stranger?' but I promise I won't hurt you," Thorne explained.

Exhausted and hungry, the thought hadn't even crossed Cress' mind. But she didn't let him know that. Instead, she just nodded.

Besides, somehow, it felt as if she already knew him. It was probably all the times she had seen him on television.

"So tell me, why exactly did you break into my building?" Thorne asked, looking into her eyes as if he could find the answers there.

Cress blushed and looked away, twirling a strand of hair around her finger again and again.

"I was trying to get money," she said in a small voice.

Thorne furrowed his eyebrows. "Explain in detail."

She swallowed and twirled, twirled, twirled. She explained as quickly as she could that she was a hacker and that she had been trying to get a new identity. She didn't tell him that she was a second away from succeeding. It was, of course, not mentioned that she was Lunar either. When he pried, she simply told him that her parents had abandoned her.

"Well, you've got to be a pretty smart girl if you had almost made yourself a new identity," Thorne said, rubbing his chin. "A girl as smart as you shouldn't be homeless."

"These things happen," Cress said quietly, sighing afterwards. Her stomach was in knots as they pulled up to a home bigger than any Cress had ever seen. When Thorne helped her out of the car, she found her knees shaking again.

They bounded up the steps, and Cress stepped into a whole new world as soon as he opened the door.

The plush carpet beneath her dirty sneakers made her gasp. She quickly bent down and pulled them off, afraid to get the pristine white carpet dirty. Thorne chuckled and continued on past the grand staircase while Cress marveled at the crystal chandelier, then the paintings before hurrying after him.

He led her into the kitchen, covered in marble, and patted the cushion of a stool by a breakfast counter. He hummed as she sat, going to the large refrigerator and pulling out container after container.

"My chef leaves food for me while I'm out," he explained, popping the lid on one of the containers then handing her a spoon and plate. "You can get whatever and however much you like."

Cress shoveled spoonfuls of rice, broccoli, beans and grilled chicken onto her plate and was almost about to dig in before Thorne grabbed the plate and popped it in the microwave. The wait was torture as the smell started to waft from the machine, but Cress managed to wait patiently even as her stomach growled audibly and her mouth began to salivate.

When the food was efficiently warm, Thorne sat the plate in front of her and she tried not to look like a complete savage while eating, but realized she was probably failing about halfway through.

Thorne looked tickled again, but managed not to laugh in her face. "I'm going to go draw you a bath," he said instead, scurrying out of the kitchen quickly.

She became full quicker than she expected, and finally took the time to think about her situation.

She still had no money.

She was in a mansion.

Scratch that, she was in _Carswell Thorne's_ mansion.

And she was full.

Cress had no idea what to do. She didn't have much time to ponder on it further when Thorne came back into the kitchen in all his glory and shine.

"You can come bathe if you want," he said, picking up her empty plate and sitting it in the sink.

"Why are you helping me?" she blurted out suddenly, looking down at the shiny breakfast bar, folding her shredded dress in her hands.

Thorne grew quiet for a moment before sighing and rubbing a hand through his brown locks. He sighed and leaned against a countertop, one long led folding over the other. "I…don't really know exactly," he admitted, then grinned deviously, "probably because you're so cute."

Cress held back the urge to snort. "I'm not though."

"There's potential under all that dirty and grime," Thorne pointed out. "But really. I have a proposition for you. I just thought you'd like to eat and clean up first before I offered."

Cress looked up then. A mischievous twinkle was in Thorne's eyes, and she found herself both wanting to know and dreading this so-called proposition all at once. Still, he had been right earlier when he had mentioned he was a complete stranger. This proposition could be an offer to be her sex-slave for all she knew. She'd rather know now than to continue to use his resources and climb herself further into debt with him.

"I'd rather you tell me now," she admitted and was pleasantly surprised to find Thorne nodding afterwards.

"Sure," he said, moving from his leaning-position to standing to his full height and slowly nearing her in that sexy swagger he had. Cress swallowed nervously. "Crescent, right?"

She nodded.

"Crescent, I want you to be my maid."

Cress blinked in confusion. Once. Twice. Then her lip started quivering uncontrollably before she let out a fit of giggles. "I-I'm sorry!" she sputtered, leaning over to clutch her aching stomach. "I-It's just…I wasn't expecting anything like that!"

Thorne grinned and laughed too before shrugging. "I know, I know. But I'm serious! It could really work out for the both of us."

Cress finally calmed down enough to give him her full attention again, so he continued, "you could be my live-in maid. I've been looking for someone because I don't like maid services running in and out. I want someone I can trust and who can get to know me personally so that they can see to it that everything is how I like it. Oh, you're probably thirsty," he said as an afterthought, turning to the fridge and pulling out a pitcher of water.

As he gathered a glass he went on, "I would pay you for your service, of course. You could have off at five each evening and off the entire weekend like a normal job. I have a personal chef as I mentioned before, so you won't have to worry about cooking. Simply cleaning up afterwards to take some stress off of my chef would be enough. And of course cleaning every room in the house, but we can talk more about your duties when we draw up an official contract. So what do you think? You in?"

He had started to talk quickly in his explanation, a sort of excitement bubbling up from his chest that even Cress could notice. She stared at him with wide eyes, bit her lip, twirled her hair. "You…you would trust me as a _live-in_ maid…even after I broke into your facility?"

Thorne shrugged. "It's not like you broke anything."

"B-but I was about to commit a federal crime!"

Throne shrugged again. "We've all done it. Or at least thought about it. Besides, I saw you struggling at the end. You didn't really want to do it," he replied, "everyone deserves a second chance, Crescent."

She slowly sipped at the water he had poured for her then sat it back down, trying to push away the tears that was building up in her eyes.

She had found a couple friendly people since she had landed on Earth. The woman who had helped her on the train, the people at the homeless shelter who had given her pants and shoes. A few kind souls who had given her spare change.

Yet this kindness…from a millionaire that she had wronged…made her feel as if her chest would cave in on itself.

"I'll do it," Cress said with a big of a strong voice as she could manage.

Thorne's smile was enough to make her heart stop. "Good decision," he replied. "Let's get you in that bath. You're filthy!"

After her bath, which was absolutely exquisite, Cress felt like a whole new person. She had stayed in the bathroom for over an hour, scrubbing her body until her skin was red, soaking, soaking, singing, giggling.

She wrapped herself in the white fluffy robe that Thorne had laid out for her. It was much too big for her, but somehow that made it even better. She padded to the room that Thorne had said would be hers for as long as she chose to live there. The room was more than twice the size her satellite had been.

The first thing she did was jump into the king sized bed. The light pink sheets smelled of powder. Then jumped out and opened the curtains to the large window and found that she had a balcony, but didn't go outside.

A rush of disbelief and panic flooded her before an even bigger rush of gratefulness took over.

Sybil either thought she was dead or did not care enough to come looking for her, a lonely shell on Earth.

She was not starving or homeless anymore.

She even lived with a hot millionaire.

Tears streamed down her cheeks, a sob wracking her body.

She could not remember _ever_ being this happy. Not even she had hacked in to the castle in New Beijing for the first time.

Things couldn't possible get any better, she thought as she drifted into a deep, deep slumber.


	2. Chapter 2

**PLEASE READ: Hello everyone! In the last chapter, I mentioned that Thorne and Cress rode in a car. At first, I was going to make this story a modern-day Third Era, but I think I'm changing my mind. I'm going to use the technology in the original series, including the hovercars. I might forget sometimes when it comes to the technology, so please kindly tell me if I do like one reviewer was kind enough to do. I'll go back and edit so that future readers won't see the same mistakes. I'll do my best to remember the advanced technology though. Also, a special thank you all so much for the reviews and faves! I was so excited to read them and it really gave me the inspiration to write this chapter. I replied to everyone who didn't review as a guest, but if you did review as a guest just know that I do read and appreciate your reviews as well. Even a small "nice" is enough for me.**

* * *

Chapter 2

By the time Cress woke up the next day, the sun was shining brightly through the window, whose curtains she had forgot to close last night. She groaned and pulled the soft sheets and covers up over her face and buried deeper into her pillow.

Wait.

Cress sprung up, eyes wide. It hadn't been a dream!

She was really in her new bedroom in Carswell Thorne's mansion.

She was really a maid.

Cress gasped upon the realization that she had probably been expected to wake up early to start her day of work. That's when she noticed the portscreen sitting on the pillow next to her. She did not remember going to bed with a portscreen, so she picked it up and woke the screen up. She raised her eyebrows at the comm that was left there.

 **Good morning, sweetheart.**

 **By the time you get up, I'll most likely be at work. Comm me when you see this.**

 **-Thorne**

Cress bit her lip and sent a quick reply. She sat for a full minute waiting for a reply then realized that Thorne was probably comm her back when he was not busy. So she swung her legs out of the bed and did her best to make it look exactly as it had before she had gotten in it last night, which wasn't too hard because she had always cleaned up her space when she lived in the satellite.

She then took the time to put her hair in a long braid and wondered if she would be able to find her old tattered dress and pants. Thorne had told her to put them in a bag and leave them outside the bathroom door before she had taken a bath last night, but she wasn't sure what he had done with them after that.

Just as Cress was starting to feel awkward standing in the big bedroom, she heard a ping from the portscreen. She practically leaped to the bed to get the device, finding herself eager to see what Thorne was going to say.

 **Welcome back to the land of the living, sleepyhead.**

Cress chuckled and typed back her thanks.

 **I'm sending you a document with a list of the things I expect from you. For today we'll focus on polishing you up a bit so that tomorrow you can start work. At 12:00pm an escort droid will be arriving to help you do that. By 2:00pm the chef will be there to cook my lunch for tomorrow and dinner for tonight so don't worry if someone else comes inside. She knows all of the security information so she can get in on her own. See you tonight.**

Cress nodded at the screen as if Thorne could see her, then checked the time. She had a half hour until the droid arrived. The portscreen pinged again, and Cress quickly opening the list of Thorne's expectations for her.

 **1\. Call me Captain**

Cress blinked, already not wanting to read the rest of the list. He was already being ridiculous. Cress knew from her prior research that Thorne had been in the military…but he certainly had _not_ been a captain of any sort. But she supposed that she did not have a problem calling him by the nickname. It was sort of cute in a way…and better than calling him Master.

Cress hurriedly read through the rest of the list. The majority of it had to do with her cleaning duties including the kitchen, bathrooms, and bedrooms. She would be given a certain amount of money for cleaning supplies and was expected to go shopping for whatever she needed as she needed it.

The next part of the file was a non-disclosure agreement, which stated that Cress would not disclose any information she would find out about Thorne while living with him or thereafter. Cress frowned, wondering what she could possibly tell anyone that would be hurtful to Thorne, but did not dwell on it. She signed the agreement with her finger on the portscreen and then prepared herself to send it back to Thorne.

To her surprise, she found herself hesitating. A wave of doubt passed through her. From her research, she knew that though Thorne had millions, he was not one for charity or handouts. He seemed to actually be quite greedy with his earnings. So why was he bothering to help her, a homeless girl with no place to go who had broken into one of his buildings? Though Cress couldn't come up with an answer, she went ahead and sent the document to him.

Living with Thorne _had_ to be better than being homeless. Plus, the document had detailed her payment plan. She would be able to save up money and eventually move out.

The only problem was that she did not have a bank account or even an ID chip to get one with. Those had been in her hacking plans, but she could not tell Thorne that she did not have an ID chip or an Earthen identity, lest he know that she was Lunar. She wasn't sure how Thorne felt about Lunars, but judging from the newsfeeds and gossip shows she had viewed, most Earthens weren't too fond of them.

A resonating _ding-dong_ made Cress jump and look around frantically for the source of the sound.

Then she remembered from watching netdramas that that had been the sound of a doorbell. Even though she knew she was grinning like an idiot, she couldn't help it. She hurriedly went towards the entrance, for a second forgetting where it was while imagining herself as a housewife.

"Coming!" she called, thinking that was what was expected of her.

When she finally reached the door, she marveled at the medium-sized netscreen that showed an image of a girl with dark skin and blue braids, who was puffing her cheeks in a manner that Cress assumed meant that she was already tired of waiting for the door to open. Just when she reached to ring the bell again Cress pulled open the door, surprising her. Cress let her eyes roam over the girl.

"Oh, you must be Cress!" the girl chirped happily, easily moving past Cress and straight into the mansion as if she owned the place.

"Um…yes," Cress replied, closing the door behind the girl.

"I'm Iko," the girl said, walking forward and causing Cress to follow dutifully behind her. She carried a large bag swung over her shoulder and a platter of muffins and coffee cups with lids in either hand. She walked with a sway to her hips that Cress was positive she could never mimic. "So, what do you want done today?" she asked, handing over the tray of muffins to Cress and sitting the drinks on in their tray on the breakfast bar.

"Ah- um," Cress' eyes widened as she wondered what this strange girl could possible mean. Then Thorne's earlier message flashed through her mind. "Oh! You're the escort droid!"

Iko blinked. "Well, you didn't have to mention _that_ ," she pointed out, hands on her hips.

Cress blushed and shook her head back and forth. "I'm sorry! It's just that…you're so…" Cress fumbled for the right words, but was thankful when Iko finished for her.

"Human?" she asked, a wide grin on her pretty face. "I know. Anyways, I'm on a time limit here ya know. Thorne said to come here and do your hair and makeup or whatever you'd like. So what kind of style would you like?" she touched a lock of Cress' long hair and squinted a bit. "I'd suggest a haircut."

Cress immediately broke out into a grin of her own. "You can do that?!"

Iko let out a noise that sounded like something in between a cough and a gasp. She put a hand to her heart- or where her heart would be and fluttered her eye lashes. "When it comes to fashion, I can do _anything_."

* * *

Thorne swiveled in his leather chair, staring at the signature page Cress had sent back to him with her signature on it.

 _Crescent Moon._

It certainly was a strange name. He had never met or heard anyone with the last name Moon before. The thought dawned on him that perhaps she had given him a fake name. After all, she had been trying to make an entire new identity when he'd found her in his computer lab.

Thorne knew it was a risk to take this girl in. At first, he had thought she was half-crazy, but something had told him to check in to her story. So he had woken up earlier, letting the girl sleep, and had his best lab technicians to check out the computer she had been on and they had found her documents, proving that her story was true.

She really was a hacker.

And a damn good one at that.

From that moment a plan had been blooming in Thorne's mind. This girl could help him do something he had been wanting to do hassle-free for a very long time.

Become even richer.

He knew he could charm any girl into doing what he wanted, but there was something different about this girl. He had known it immediately. She had been practically blubbering in the hovercar on the way home last night. Despite her resolve to go through with it, they both knew that she didn't want to- that she might not have ever pushed finished those documents even if Thorne had not shown up to stop her.

He would have to slowly convince this girl. Any girl could be persuaded by his natural good looks and charm, but Thorne knew that it would take more than that if he was going to crack this case.

After all, he was an entrepreneur. A businessman. Most recently, he had ventured into the world of modeling. He was good at what he did. He could get anything he wanted if he put his mind to it…. even if it meant stealing it.

All Cress needed was some tender loving care.

Thorne leaned over and stared at his android, which was waiting patiently in a corner of the room waiting for any command he chose to give.

"Darla, cancel any appointments I have. I'm going to take the rest of the day off," he said.

"Right away, Captain." Darla replied without a second thought.

* * *

They had headed off to the bathroom closest to Cress' room. Iko had dragged a chair inside and started pulling supplies out of her big bag. Cress tried not to squirm when she had draped a large cape over her body. She had looked in Iko's book of hairstyles and picked out one for herself. Iko had squealed excitedly and commented that it'd look great because of Cress' heart-shaped face and bring out her big blue eyes. Cress didn't really understand how hair could bring out her eyes, but she didn't question it. Surely Iko knew more than she ever would in the hair-department.

Iko had gone to work quickly, cutting Cress' hair with precision as she hummed happily to the music she was playing through her portscreen. Cress watched in amazement as she stared in the mirror. Now she knew what the cape was for. Her long locks flew onto the cape and the floor with each snip of Iko's silver scissors.

After a while Iko moved in front of Cress, cutting off Cress' view of the mirror. She could only watch as a few stray strands fell. Then Iko brushed the hair off her cape and moved to the side again.

"How's that?" Iko asked, but didn't sound at all as if she were really asking somehow.

Cress gaped. She opened her mouth to speak.

"It's beautiful."

Cress and Iko jumped in surprise at the same time. Iko was the first to recover after seeing Thorne standing in the bathroom doorway.

"Isn't it though," she said with the biggest grin yet, twirling the scissors in her hand. "Hello, Thorne."

"Iko, looking as beautiful as ever," Thorne smiled and kissed Iko's hand, causing the escort droid to break out in a grin. Cress thought it was very possible that Iko was about to overheat.

Just as Cress was starting to feel uncomfortable with Iko and Thorne's display of…friendship, or whatever it was, Thorne's blue eyes moved to her own. Cress felt her face heat up as Thorne stared at her intensely then moved her hand up to touch her short hair and gaze in the mirror some more. She bit her lip.

Iko frowned and looked back and forth between Thorne and Cress. "You…you don't like it?"

"No," Cress said breathlessly, standing up from the chair. Slowly, her face broke out in a grin and she turned to Iko quickly. "I love it! Thank you so much!"

Iko laughed and hugged Cress, who was practically bouncing on her toes.

Thorne let out a small cough to get their attention. "Measure her sizes for me, Iko. Then you can be off."

"Oh, sure!" Iko replied, as chipper as ever.

"And tell Cinder I said to stop avoiding me or I'll come camp out on her front door and never leave," he added.

Iko giggled. "I think that's the last thing Cinder would want."

"I know. But that's why it'd be so much fun," Thorne replied with a wink and smirk.

Once Iko was gone, Cress suddenly realized that it was mid-afternoon and she still had yet to change out of the robe she had been in since last night. Luckily, Thorne had been smart and kind enough to pick her up some clothes and a toothbrush. He had done fairly well at guessing her sizes. The shirt was a bit loose, but it was still better than putting on her old raggedy dress.

Now she couldn't stop staring at herself in the mirror. She knew it was a bit vain of her, but she could help it. For the first time, she realized that she was…well… _pretty._ Sure, she was not as pretty or shapely as Iko, but at least she had a nice face.

"Ready to go, Cress?"

Cress turned to see Thorne standing in her doorway, looking as confident and dapper as usual. She blinked, suddenly remembering that he had previously said that he wouldn't be home until that night and wondered what had changed his mind. "You're home early," she said softly, suddenly feeling a bit shy.

"I thought it would be best if I came back early to help you out," Thorne replied smoothly, then added, "and to get to know you better."

Cress felt her cheeks heating and looked away, not wanting Thorne to see her blush. She bit her lip and reminded herself that Thorne could be exactly as he was depicted in the media- a playboy. Yes, he was nice and she was grateful for him taking her in but in the end it wasn't as if he wasn't getting anything out of it in return. Cress did not to ignore that fact, but it seemed that ignoring his dashing good looks could prove to be a harder feat to accomplish than she thought it would be.

Gathering her composure, she cleared her throat and dared to look at him again. "So where are we going anyways?" she asked.

"To every girl's favorite place," Thorne replied with his signature grin. He took her hand and led her out of her room, down the steps and into the front room Cress was starting to know well. She glanced over at the kitchen and was surprised to see a blur of red cross her vision.

"Is…someone in there," she asked.

"Oh, Scarlet must be here," Thorne said, moving towards the kitchen, followed by Cress timidly.

She tried not to look surprised at the chef who was quickly cutting up vegetables with striking precision. The girl's curves made Cress feel ashamed of her own petite figure. Her beautiful red hair fells in curls down past her shoulders. She sniffed and wiped at her face with her sleeve before meeting eyes with Cress, who jumped a bit at the girl's intense gaze.

Then Scarlet smiled softly and wiped her hands with a towel. "This must be Cress," she said. "Nice to meet you."

"N-nice to meet you too," Cress replied.

"I didn't expect to see you here, Thorne," Scarlet said, eyes sweeping over to their boss. Cress wondered if she was the only one who had been told to call Thorne captain, or if Scarlet just didn't play by the rules.

"I decided to take the rest of the day off," Thorne replied with a shrug.

"Slacker."

Thorne feigned a heart attack at Scarlet's cruel words. "I'll have you know that I work _very_ hard, Ms. Benoit!"

"Sure you do," Scarlet said, "salmon for dinner by the way. I'll remember to make enough for both you and Cress for now on. Oh…and before I forget," she looked at Thorne pointedly, "my boyfr-…my friend is interested in the job, if you still need him."

"Oh, good. I can interview him tomorrow," Thorne said, grabbing Cress' hand again, "have him call me later tonight."

Scarlet nodded and they left her to finish her work.

* * *

Cress was just like a kid in a candy shop, just as he had hoped she would be. As soon as he had told her that he was taking her to the mall, all expenses on him, her clear blue eyes had lit up like a Christmas tree.

She had practically toppled out of the hovercar and left him in the dust while he walked at a leisurely pace behind her. They entered the large mall, suddenly surrounded by people, and Thorne almost missed the quiet yet peaceful and nice silence they had in the car, with the occasional question from Cress or from himself.

"Get anything you want," he told her, "even lingerie."

He watched her cheeks redden a bit at that, greatly amused. This girl was too easy to read. She walked a bit, peering into the different stores with a watchful and shy gaze before he nudged her towards one that sold clothes he knew would be her size.

She bit her lip then walked inside.

The first thing Thorne noticed was that the store smelled of perfume. As Cress wandered towards a rack, he glanced over the entire store, catching the eyes of several women. He winked at one particular girl, who swooned and tugged on her friend's shoulder before he decided to move closer to Cress and see what she had found.

She held out a light blue babydoll top for him to see, her eyes questioning.

Thorne took one look at the fabric and said, "nope."

Cress' hopeful look shattered into a thousand little pieces but Thorne patted her head and chuckled. "It's a bit too big for you, don't you think? Here," he pulled the right size off of the rack and showed her, "try this one."

Cress pouted and slowly took his offered top. "I could've figured it out myself."

Thorne blinked and shrugged. "Then next time I'll let you handle it. The changing room is over there by the way."

Cress looked as if she was about to say something but took it back, moving to another rack and rifled through it before finding a pair of skinny jeans.

Thorne watched, letting her choose her own clothes. For the first time, he really _looked_ at her. She was petite- much smaller than the women he normally went for. But her size did not take away from her beauty at all, instead it accentuated it. She was more adorable than hot, but for some reason it did not make her plain or dull in his eyes at all. The little freckles that spread across her nose flared when she blushed and the twinkle in her eyes when she was happy was endearing.

So far, even her personality was cute. Timid, yet not overly so…as if at every moment she was striving to have more confidence.

Thorne liked a girl with a little personality.

"I'm going to go try some of this stuff on," Cress told him suddenly, as many clothes in her arms as she could handle. "Um…will you…tell me if they look okay?"

"Not like I have anything better to do in this women-infested store," Thorne replied with a smirk. Cress nodded.

He watched her flurry off to a changing room.

As soon as she was out of his line of vision, someone else came in to it.

"Excuse me," the girl, a teenager said excitedly, standing in front of her three friends who were whispering to each other and looking at him as if he were a piece of meat.

Thorne had to hold back the urge to sigh. Usually, he enjoyed playing around and flirting with fans, but right now he found his mind on Cress, wanting to see her in that first outfit.

"Yes?" he asked, perhaps a little too forcefully. But the girls either didn't mind or they didn't notice.

"You're Carswell Thorne, right? The millionaire?" one of the girls asked, and then her friend added, "The model?!"

"That's me," Thorne moved some of his hair to the side and the girls practically melted like butter. "What gave me away? My crazy good looks or my natural ability to stand out in a crowd?"

The girls giggled and Thorne felt his ego inflate a bit.

One of the girls latched on to his arm and snuggled against it. "Mind if we take a pic? No one's going to believe us otherwise!"

"Take a picture with three lovely ladies? I'd love to," Thorne conceded. The girls broke out into a fit of nervous giggles and red faces. He leaned down to get in the shot better as the girl held up her port and took the picture.

When she lowered it, Thorne's eyes immediately met ocean blue ones. "Cress," he nearly jumped, startled by her sudden appearance. The three girls stared with wide eyes and backed up.

He watched her face- it was the most unreadable expression he had ever seen in his life. It was a mixture of anger, sadness and confusion all at once before she smiled sheepishly and touched a strand of her now short hair.

"I'm sorry…I didn't mean to interrupt," she said quietly then scurried away quickly like a mouse.

Thorne sighed and ran a hand over his face.

"Um, was that your girlfriend," a girl asked.

"No," Thorne sighed, "that was my maid."

Thorne barely even registered when the girls slowly slunk away. Usually, when his women got mad at him for being with other girls, he would just calm them down by buying them something or making them forget by _other_ tactics. But something told him that neither of those tactics would work with Cress.

But what right did she have to be mad if he spoke to other girls? It was not as if they were dating. They had just met _yesterday_.

When Cress finally emerged with a few less outfits in tow, he took them from her and paid for them without a second thought. They excited the store, Cress walking with a less-chipper attitude than she had before.

Sighing, Thorne abruptly stopped walking, causing her to bump into him. "Look, sweetheart," he said, looking down at her, totally forgetting his plans to seduce her for the moment. "You're going to have to get used to me being surrounded by women. They're naturally attracted to me, you know."

Cress' face flushed and she shook her head back and forth quickly. "I-I'm not jealous, if that's what you're insinuating!"

Thorne raised his eyebrows. "Then what's wrong?"

She looked away and twirled rubbed a hand up and down her arm. "Well…I guess jealousy is a part of it…" she said slowly, "but it's mostly because…I…I thought that you were giving me your undivided attention today. So when those girls showed up…I was a little disappointed, that's all."

"Aces," Thorne breathed, running a hand through his hair. This girl certainly was a different species than what he was used to dealing with. She had a knack for making Thorne for feeling like a bigger jerk than he was used to. And he was used to being called a jerk on an everyday basis. "I'm sorry, Cress. I didn't think about it that way," he admitted, surprising himself. It was true. He had never thought she could be disappointed. Angry and jealous, yes…but disappointed? No. Usually women didn't care for his undivided attention unless he was in bed with them.

"It's alright…Captain," Cress broke out into a smile that reached her eyes.

Thorne felt his heart beat against his chest.

Maybe he shouldn't have told her to call him Captain.

She said it was such innocence and sincerity that it gave him pause. The way she said it…. was sexy in a way that wasn't meant to be. She said it in a way that made him want to hear her say it again and again. As she walked past, happy again, he watched her with wide eyes.

"Easy, old chap," he told himself, "she's just the help."

Both of their arms were full of bags by the time Cress had finished shopping. He had shown a worker Cress' three sizes that Iko had taken down earlier and the two had gone off, picking out under clothes for Cress while Thorne was forced to sit on a bench outside of the store like a good boy even though he had practically begged Cress to let him help her pick out her lingerie.

Now they were taking a break in the food court. Cress sat a tray in front of Cress, who was practically salivating at the sight of the cheeseburger, fries, and soda. Thorne took his seat across from Cress and dipped his fry in ketchup.

"Scarlet would kill me if she found out I was eating this junk," Thorne said with a wicked grin that proved that the thought of annoying Scarlet amused him more than it scared him.

Cress bit into her burger and looked as if she had to find her way back down to Earth from heaven before she could finally answer. "Scarlet seems like she could knock you down a size."

Thorne laughed, "Well, she _is_ pretty tough. But not tough enough to beat a Captain," he said with a wink.

Cress smiled and bit into her food again.

"Besides, we have to fatten you up a bit. You were nearly half-starved yesterday," Thorne said.

Cress chewed slowly. She fidgeted a bit, ignoring the urge to look down at her skinny wrists. "I ate enough to survive," she replied softly.

"Indeed you did," Thorne said, "but Cress…if you were homeless all of your life without parents, how did you learn to be so good with computers?"

Cress nearly choked on her food. She looked up at Thorne, who was staring at her intensely. She wracked her brain for an answer- something that would fit into her story of her parents not being there from a very young age _without_ giving away that she was a Lunar who had been trapped on a satellite for most of her life. Wasn't it the law for Earthen's to attend school as children?

Cress swallowed her food and then sipped her drink. "I learned at school," she said simply, thankful that her voice didn't crack.

Thorne blinked and opened his mouth to say something, when a teenager and a middle-aged woman walked up to the table, asking to have a picture with Thorne. When he sat back down, Cress quickly jumped into a different topic.

"So how did you meet Iko? Or- does she come from a company?"

"Iko used to be an android owned by my mechanic actually," Thorne said, "when she was fixing my hovercar once, she asked that I give her an escort droid body instead of money. She doesn't know that I just switched my person assistant's body with Iko's though."

Cress tilted her head to the side, wondering what sort of person this mechanic could be if she'd rather do something nice for her android above getting the currency she was owed. "She sounds like a nice person."

"She's always yelling at me, pessimistic at times, and hotheaded," Thorne replied. "But she's also hilarious without trying to be, strong-willed and a great mechanic. She's my only… friend…" Thorne trailed off and found himself staring at Cress, was staring back intently. The small smile on her face made Thorne feel as if he had just let out his biggest secret. He cleared his throat and leaned back, trying to look nonchalant. "Anyways, I'm sure you'll meet her one of these days. I'm always breaking something one way or the other."

"I look forward to it," Cress replied, looking him in his eyes with a boldness that she normally did not seem to possess. "I'm sure she's great…just like you."

Thorne felt a pang of gratefulness to Cress.

Yet at the same time an even greater pang of guilt was already beginning to gnaw at his heart and resolve.


	3. Chapter 3

**Finally got my laptop fixed everyone! Thank you everyone for expressing such interest in this story.**

* * *

Cress groaned and rolled over, wanting desperately to be able to ignore the blaring chimes from her portscreen. But knowing that she had to get up, she huffed and sat up in bed, reaching for the device and turning the alarm off.

Today was the day she would officially be Thorne's maid. He had sent her more documents, detailing more of her job. Knowing that he had already left for work, she took the time to gather herself. She swiped through the comms once more, then was surprised when another one suddenly appeared.

 **Wouldn't want you messing up all those outfits I bought you yesterday, so I got you a uniform and stuck it in the closet while you were sleeping. You can thank me later ;)**

Cress raised her eyebrows, slightly perturbed that he had so easily managed to come in and get inside her closet without her waking up. She would have to figure out how to be a lighter sleeper, but for now she slipped out of the bed, her brand new silk nightgown falling down to her knees. She put on her fluffy pink bunny-slippers and walked over to the walk-in closet where the rest of her new clothes now lived.

Cress was glad she was not looking in the mirror right now. She knew without looking that her face was as red as a tomato all the way down to her neck. She stared at the short-sleeve mini dress with a layered tutu skirt, lace-up bodice, attached apron, satin bow front applique, black stockings and matching maid head piece with black heels sitting on the floor below it.

In other words, Cress stared with her mouth wide open at her French Maid outfit.

She was gripping the portscreen so hard she thought it would crack.

 **C: I can't wear this!**

 **T: Why not?**

 **C: Because it's degrading!**

 **T: Oh come on! It's a uniform…a sexy uniform :D**

 **C: …Captain.**

 **T: Well, you don't** _ **have**_ **to wear it. But it'd be awesome if you did.**

Cress sighed and looked back at the dress. She didn't want to be a part of Thorne's freaky maid fetish, but she had to admit…it was kinda cute. Plus, he had done so much for her already. She supposed she could return the favor.

But there was no way she would flounce around in those damn heels all day.

After washing up and slipping on the outfit, remaining in her bunny-slippers, she opened the document of the list of things she had to do. After retrieving the bucket of cleaning supplies from the hallway closet, she started in the largest living room; she vacuumed, dusted, and wiped until everything was perfect, then moved on to the several guest rooms, surprised to find that plenty of them were a mess. Sheets were thrown about, drawers left wide open. On one mirror, a lipstick-kiss was puckering right at her. She glowered at it and wiped it away with the glass cleaner.

By the time she was finished with all of the guest rooms Cress checked the time and found that it was already past midday. She sighed, already tired. She knew that once these rooms were clean, she probably would not have to clean them again entirely for a while other than dusting. That was the only thought that comforted her as she moved through the rooms, pretending she was a housewife that _loved_ to do this. That soon the kids would be coming home from school and then her husband from a long day's work.

Except that husband would be Thorne.

The millionaire that had given her all this darn work to do instead of just hiring a maid service that could get the job done quicker and most likely more efficiently.

Cress sighed and carried her cleaning supplies to the kitchen, intent on fixing herself some food to get some of her energy back. Hearing a sizzling sound from down the hall, Cress remembered that every day Scarlet was supposed to come and cook.

As she entered the kitchen, Scarlet looked up from her cooking and gave Cress a shocked look at first before it melted into a warm, inviting smile. Cress slowly neared the breakfast bar, trying not to look as timid as she felt.

"I was beginning to think I'd have to comm you for lunch," Scarlet said, producing a plate from beside the stove and setting it in front of Cress. "Curried chicken salad with apples and raisins on whole-grain bread for lunch. I've already packed up Thorne's portion. He knows to get it before work in the morning. Oh, and you guys will be having grilled steak, green beans and tomatoes for dinner tonight."

Cress nodded and bit into her sandwich, humming appreciatively as the slightly spicy yet sweet flavors exploded in her mouth. She had never tasted anything like it. "This is amazing!" she found herself exclaiming, then covered her mouth and blushed.

Nonetheless, Scarlet grinned as she sliced away at her bright red tomatoes. "I'm glad you like it," she said, "that's actually my grandmother's recipe."

Cress nodded and tried to take her time eating. She watched Scarlet, who seemed to be doing fifty million things at once yet did it with a precision that Cress envied. Once she was finished with her sandwich, she looked up at Scarlet and tilted her head to the side. "So how did you meet Captain?"

"Well it was actually a fluke," Scarlet began to explain, brushing olive oil on the tomato slices, "I was delivering a shipment of food to a club that Thorne happens to frequent. The staff was shorthanded so the owner who I know pretty well asked me if I had some time to help out. I did, and it turns out that Thorne loved my cooking and wanted to pay his compliments to the chef. When I came out he asked me to be his personal chef."

Scarlet placed the tomatoes slices on the grill pan and looked thoughtful for a moment, her brow furrowing. "At first…I didn't want to take the job because of Thorne's…well, he seemed like an egotistical, narcissistic jerk. Which he sort of is." Scarlet abandoned the filtered talk and crossed her arms over her bosom. "But I took the job because I needed the money to help my grandmother out since she was sick at the time."

Cress was a little shocked at Scarlet's explanation. Thorne? A jerk? She could see the narcissist in him a bit…but…surely not a jerk. "Why would you think of him that way?" she asked, eyes wide.

Scarlet shrugged and checked on her tomatoes. "Because he was surrounded by women. Showing off the entire meal. Making jokes with the guys and buying up everything he saw." Scarlet sighed then tossed some of her red curls over her shoulder, "it turns out he's not _all_ bad. But I wouldn't say he's all good either."

Cress bit her lip, looking down at her empty plate. She had such a high view of Thorne, that it was hard to hear Scarlet bad-mouthing him. Surely, it was just because Scarlet did not know him well enough. You couldn't judge a book by its cover, after all. Cress herself may have seemed like a lowly orphan girl, but she was truly a genius hacker underneath it all.

"I think you should give him a little more credit," Cress said lowly, but with as much confidence as she could muster, "he's only in his twenties and heads so many organizations. He has a lot to deal with on a daily basis. So maybe he seems like a bad person sometimes because of all the stress on his shoulders. Maybe the women are because he's lonely."

Scarlet stared at Cress with an intensity that made the blonde want to shrivel up or go hide in a corner. But as quickly as it came, the look passed, and Scarlet placed a hand on her hip. "Well, you sure seem confident in him for someone who's only known him for a couple of days."

Cress lowered her gaze and played with the frill on her apron. "I…I have to…" she said to Scarlet, but more-so to herself.

Scarlet sighed and took the plate that Cress had finished eating off of. Turning away, she warned, "All I'm saying is, don't get your hopes up."

Scarlet had gone home and though Cress' work day was supposed to end at five as had been outlined in the agreement that Thorne had made her sign, Cress was still working. She had finished cleaning the bathrooms until they sparkled, but had yet to finish cleaning up after Scarlet. Her arms and back were sore from all of the scrubbing- her muscles not used to the constant motion.

Coming a different way than what she was used to, Cress grumbled as she neared the staircase that would lead down to the front of the house. She remembered the first day she had entered Thorne's home and her eyes had landed on the grand staircase, which surprisingly was only a few days ago though it already seemed like such a long time.

Before she could get to the staircase though, her eyes landed on a door in the far right corner of the hallway. Like the front door, this door was made of steel and had a security screen on the wall to the right.

Curious, she neared it and entered the simple numerical password that she knew opened the front door but was surprised to find that the door did not unlock and the security system lit up with a big red X.

She blinked.

None of the other doors in the house, not even Thorne's bedroom, were locked. So the fact this random door was safeguarded puzzled Cress a bit. A bead of sweat rolled down her temple. She could easily use her portscreen to hack into the system, but she was on the fence about it. If Thorne locked this door, then he had a reason to do it. She should just trust him. But then again, she did not know him that well and he could potentially have something dangerous hidden behind that wall.

Perhaps she would just ask him. No harm in that, right?

Nodding, her mind made up, Cress turned away from the door and descended the staircase. She made her way to the kitchen and dropped off her cleaning materials on the counter.

Then heard the now familiar chime of the front door opening.

Cress perked up immediately, a burst of happiness swelling up in her chest. She was looking forward to showing Thorne all of her hard work, even if she had not yet finished cleaning the kitchen. Everything else was spotless just as he had asked!

She practically ran towards the door.

And stopped dead in her tracks.

Three pairs of eyes stared back at her.

The woman on Thorne's right was tall, caramel-skinned, with wavy black hair that fell thickly on her shoulders. She wore a short red dress that accentuated her long legs and showed off her cleavage. Her full lips were painted crimson red and her medium-pitched, sultry voice came out like a melody filled with venom when she said, "Oh, Carswell, she's so _cute._ " Cress frowned. She spoke about her as if she were…a pet.

The other woman was a blond, with hair that went down past her shoulders. She wore a mini-skirt and a blouse that wrapped around her intricately, revealing hints of skin here and there. Her lips were painted pink and she giggled, leaning against Thorne and looking at Cress with a half-smirk that made Cress feel like a silly little child.

Her eyes roamed to Thorne's, searching them for…for…she didn't know what. An answer to who these women were? A spark of shame or apology? But it was _his_ house. What right did she have to be flustered that he had brought two very good looking women home? She was only the maid.

For the first time since they had met, Thorne gave her a sheepish smile.

Right, the maid.

Cress called up every ounce of courage, wit, and professionalism she had in her small body while the women said something else to Thorne, that this time made all three of them laugh.

"W-welcome home, Captain," Cress said quietly, curtsying as she had seen a maid on a net-drama do once.

"Thank you, Cress," Thorne grinned and winked at her, then put a hand behind the dark haired woman's back. Cress tried not to show her shock on her face as he started to walk to the living room area. She followed slowly behind the three of them, hands clasped in front of her. The women made themselves comfortable next to Thorne on the large sofa.

"Well, well. Where did you find this one, Carswell?" the blond asked, putting a hand on Thorne's thigh in a way that made Cress want to snatch it away. The woman's pretty blue eyes trailed up and down Cress' body, and Cress was suddenly very aware that she had slipped on the maid uniform along with her bunny-slippers this morning. Now she wished she hadn't.

"That's my little secret," Thorne replied smoothly, moving some hair off of the woman's shoulder. She giggled like an imp.

"Well, she certainly has the quiet unless spoken to factor down. But she has yet to offer us anything to drink," the dark haired woman complained, crossing her arms over her large bust.

Cress' cheeks burned as the woman talked about her as if she weren't standing a few inches away. She squeezed her skirt in her hands. "I-I'm so sorry. Um…would you like anything to drink?

The woman waved her hand. "Any white wine will do."

Cress nodded and scurried away to the kitchen, the women's laughter following behind her like a pack of evil witches. She fumbled around for the wine glasses, still not quite sure where everything was located, and pulled out three. Sucking in a shuddering breath, she swiped at her eyes angrily. She would not cry. Not over something as silly as two stupid women that Thorne had brought home. She told herself that she should have expected this. Thorne was a handsome, suave bachelor with a lot of money! Of course he would bring women home.

So why did she still feel a burning hole in her chest?

"I'm a maid," Cress whispered, shutting her eyes tight. She had pretended a lot while she was on her satellite. But this time she did not have to pretend. She had to accept reality. "I am Carswell Thorne's maid and nothing can get to me."

With that, Cress picked up the glasses and set them on a tray along with a bottle of wine. She searched through the cupboards and retrieved a corkscrew. Picking the tray up, she walked back to the living room, the contents on the tray wobbling. She bit her lip as she finally lowered the tray in front of Thorne, who took his glass, followed by his companions. Cress set the tray on the small glass table that was beside the sofa, sighing and grateful that she had not yet broken anything or fallen.

She plunged the corkscrew into the bottle and tugged, praying that the cork wouldn't break. But before she could give it a tug, she felt a hand land gently on top of hers. She let out a breath and looked up into Thorne's eyes. He smiled gently down at her and moved her hand from the bottle.

"Thank you, Cress. I'll take it from here," he said lowly, just enough for her to hear him. There was something intense in his eyes, as if the other two females were no longer in the room.

As if he only had eyes for her.

Feeling a blush creep up on her cheeks, Cress quickly snatched her hands away and bowed respectively at Thorne. "Of course, Captain."

* * *

Thorne watched Cress practically run out of the room in her cute little skirt, a smirk forming on his lips. He couldn't help but to admire Cress a little. Even though she was obviously a bit nervous and peeved as well, she still tried her best and adhered to her duties.

Thorne opened the bottle and turned back to his two esteemed guests, Jira and Leona. He poured them each a healthy amount of the crisp drink then himself. His plan was to drink a bit himself, but leave most of it to the women. He didn't need a muddled mind around these two business women.

Too bad they switched the tables on him.

Before he knew it, Jira had taken the bottle from him and occasionally topped his glass off. He found himself playing a game where he would pour her more then she would reciprocate the favor. This lasted for an entire bottle and a small portion of a second. In between drunken giggles, Leona eventually fell asleep, leaving just him and Jira. She giggled as she swayed around the living room then leaned in and gave him a tender, sexual kiss on his neck.

"I'll invest in the project with you," she whispered in his ear. Thorne's head swam from both happiness and the wine. She leaned up, tossing her long braid to the side. "For now, I'll get my friend back home safely."

"Not before you sign on the dotted line," Thorne said quickly, producing the papers from where he had rested them, pulling a pen from his pocket.

"So crafty," Jira said, nonetheless taking the paper and signing her name in the appropriate spaces. "It was pleasure doing business with you Mr. Thorne," she finished with a wink.

"Likewise," he walked the women to the door, Leona practically being dragged by Jira.

When the door closed behind them, Thorne waited a pause of three seconds before celebrating. "Yes!" he exclaimed, pumping his fist and grinning. A rush of excitement bubbled up inside of him. He couldn't believe it. He stood in the middle of the living room for minutes before he realized that for once he wasn't alone. For once, he had someone to tell and that person might actually _care_ about what he was saying. This time, he wouldn't have to call Cinder at 2 in the morning and wake her with his obnoxiousness.

With that thought in mind, Thorne staggered all the way to Cress' room. He knocked on the door. "Cress? I did it! Aces, I did it!"

He knocked again, his face falling. "Cress?"

"Go away."

Thorne reared back a bit, shocked. "Excuse me?"

"I said go away!"

Thorne blinked in confusion. He tried to focus his clouded mind. _Did she just tell me to go away?_ He wondered. He ran back the last two hours in his brain. He had gotten the deal to go through with Jira….no, further…he had come home and Cress had been flouncing around in her adorable maid uniform…she had gotten them wine...

Ah.

Thorne plopped his head against her door. "Cress…" he said, sucking in a breath. He wasn't used to this. All day, he was the boss. He didn't have to worry about hurting anyone's feelings because they got paid to do his bidding. Sure, he paid Cress too, but this wasn't the same. She was an innocent who had lived on the streets. There was something…different…about her. "Cress, I'm sorry. Those women treated you as if you were nothing. I'm used to entitled, narcissistic people, so I was able to flow with it but…" he ran a hand through his hair, cringing. "You must be pretty upset."

The door cracked open, revealing a teary-eyed Cress. He gently pushed the door open so that he could see the rest of her. She wore a silk white robe and nothing on her feet. She swiped at her eyes defiantly and crossed her arms over her small bosom.

"I just thought that you would've defended me…" she said, her voice hitching a bit. She didn't look him in the eyes, instead looking down as if his feet were suddenly the most interesting thing in the world.

He sat a hand on her shoulder. "Next time I will. I'm really sorry, Cress."

Her eyes misted again, but she looked up at him and gave him a watery smile.

"So, what did you have to tell me Captain?"

Thorne blinked and then chuckled. "Somehow, it doesn't seem as exciting as you forgiving me right now."

He didn't miss the way her face reddened a bit. The room spun.

"Hey, Cress."

"Hm?" she looked up at him.

"Mind walking me back to my room? I'm actually spinning here."

Cress gave him a disapproving glance and laughed. "You should learn your limit, Captain."

"I have no limit when it comes to wine," he teased as they began to walk, the world spinning-Cress spinning. "You should drink with me sometime." He leaned against the wall for support.

Cress hurried him along. "Did you drink the entire bottle by yourself?" she asked, frowning.

"Almost two," he replied with a grin, holding up two fingers.

He didn't realize it, but he was sitting in his bed, with Cress taking off his shoes. He chuckled. Usually he was the one helping the drunk female take off her clothes.

"I'm not _that_ drunk, Cress. I'm just a little dizzy. I didn't really eat today so the wine isn't sitting well. I can get into bed by myself," he told her. He stared down at her, his hand on her hand. Just as she opened her mouth to say something he tugged on her hand and she slowly stood up. With him still sitting, they were almost the same height. He swallowed, squeezing her hand. He couldn't tell if it was the wine that made the temperature in the room increase and making his mind become even fuzzier…but the way Cress looked at him was intoxicating all by itself.

Her eyes were so focused, her small lips slightly apart. He couldn't tell if he was nearing her or if she was coming closer to him. Maybe both?

"G-goodnight…" she suddenly said, dispelling the heavy atmosphere in the room and taking a step away from him.

"Goodnight, Cress," he replied, watching her leave.

As she exited, her small form disappearing down the hall, Thorne suddenly felt lonely.

Without bothering to change his clothes, he leaned back onto his bed and closed his eyes.

He wished she would have stayed and chatted with him more. She was so interesting and cute. It was nice.

Cress was very, very nice.


	4. Chapter 4

Weeks passed in the blink of an eye for Cress. She had put all she had into becoming the perfect maid- she even watched all the net-shows she could find about maids or with a maid in it. She did a vast amount of research, learning about etiquette from which fork to put on the left side and eat a salad with to which cleaning supplies was best for what.

She woke up every morning and cleaned Thorne's room, which never needed much cleaning. She did his laundry and cleaned up after Scarlet's meal preparations. Often, she found that she did not have much to do because neither her nor Thorne frequented every room every day and certainly did not make a mess of it. She would mostly have to clean after Thorne had company, which seemed to be all business and no pleasure albeit from the glasses of wine he would offer.

Shrugging a denim jacket on over her white crochet top, Cress hummed a little Italian tune as she picked up her shoulder-bag and glanced at herself in the mirror. She had always been petite, but over the last couple of weeks her body had become more toned, stronger. Her legs had already been a bit strong from all of the walking she would do when she was homeless on the streets of New York, but now the rest of her body matched as well. Her skin was glowing, her eyes shining. She was healthy and happy.

And she had money.

As promised, Thorne paid her for her services, allowing her to build a good amount of savings already. To her surprise, he had someone come in and install an ID chip into her wrist- a brand new one with the name Rapunzel Darnel.

When she'd ask how this was possible he had simply waved a hand and said, "I'm rich."

Everything was perfect. He would never know that she was a Lunar fugitive and in a couple months she would even be able to move out if she wanted to with the amount of money she was making.

As for today, she had a few errands to run. Thorne had commed her and asked her to pick up a couple of suits from his tailor, who just happened to be his hairstylist too, Iko.

"Actually, you can drop me off in that shopping district on 56th please," Cress told the hover-taxi driver, who only grunted in response. Cress fidgeted in anticipation. Once she had realized exactly where Iko and Cinder lived, she realized that it was a short walk from where she used to frequent as a beggar.

There was a nice bakery there with owners who used to give her free bread on occasion. She had not seen them since that faithful day Thorne had taken her home. Now she could go back and show them that she was okay- that she did not have to beg anymore. She would pay them back a hefty price from all of the bread they had given her.

Landing in the appropriate parking zone, Cress practically scarred her wrist trying to swipe it to pay for her fare.

The familiar rush of New York hit her ears as soon as she stepped out of the hover- talking, music, smells of hot dogs and nachos.

And bread.

Cress sucked in a breath, suddenly nervous, though she couldn't exactly pinpoint why. She pushed the glass door open and stepped into the cooled air of the bakery.

"Welcome," a familiar voice greeted joyously. Cress stood still in the doorway, watching as her friend turned around from her position by a stand of packaged muffins. "Cress?"

Cress smiled and nodded, her hand coming up to fiddle in her short hair, the habit not yet broken.

"Hi, Winter," she said.

The girl who was just as beautiful as she remembered grinned and ran over to her to capture her in a big hug. "Cress! You're alright!" She smashed Cress' face in between her hands and stared with big eyes. "We thought something bad had happened to you on those streets!"

"I'm sorry, Winter. I should've come by sooner and told you I was okay," Cress replied, a feeling of guilt washing over her in tides. She had been so busy learning to do all that was required of her while living in Thorne's home that she had not thought to come back. Plus, she had not known that Winter would even care that much.

"Looks like you've cleaned up."

Cress' grin matched Winter as both of the girls turned to see Jacin coming out from the back room to stand by the front counter. "So have you," Cress teased with a giggle, pointing at the pink robe he was wearing.

Jacin frowned and drummed his fingers against the countertop. "Well _someone_ bleached it."

Winter gave him a sheepish smile and shrugged. She took Cress' hand and led her further into the store. "So where have you been, Cress? We were terribly worried." Winter said with a pout.

"Ah well…Carswell Thorne took me in."

Winter tapped a finger against her full lips and tilted her head to the side. "Never heard of him."

Jacin put a hand on Winter's shoulder with a smirk. "Winter lives under a rock you know, Cress. A big one."

Cress laughed and explained shortly that he was an entrepreneur/model with a mini-mansion and room to spare for her as a live-in maid. Winter listened as intently as she could while putting icing on pastries. When she was finished, Cress held up her wrist. "I can finally pay for all of that free food you two gave me."

Winter furrowed her brow and stared at Cress with a look that Cress couldn't quite read. Anger…. disappointment? Cress swallowed and slowly lowered her wrist.

And then Winter smile that pretty smile and shook her head. "You showing up safe and sound is enough payment, Cress-friend."

Feeling a lodge of tears stick in her throat, Cress nodded and hugged her friend as Jacin looked on with a small smile that Cress almost missed. After a short while, they finally relinquished their embrace.

"I'll be back again soon," Cress promised as she exited the bakery, the familiar music of the bells above the door ringing in her ears pleasantly as she stepped out into the warm afternoon sunlight.

The world was just on the brink of summer. Cress took her time walking since she did not have much to do today. Passing several boutiques, a gym shoe store and a floral shop, Cress squinted into the distance when she spotted a lone man sitting on the sidewalk beside a fruit stand and wearing a familiar hoodie despite the warm temperature. She slowed as she neared him, her heart suddenly hammering in her chest.

'That hoodie…' she thought.

 _Cold, dirty and hungry._

 _She had no idea where she could go, so she just kept walking. The rain was pattering down on her relentlessly, chilling her to the bone yet disguising her tears at the same time. Cress cursed herself every day for not having better circumstances. At least in her satellite she had been fed and had a bed._

 _Now she really was a nobody._

 _This thinking made her curse herself even more. How could she dare wish to be back on that stupid satellite doing Sybil's and by default…the queen's…bidding?_

" _Hey."_

 _Cress' knees shook as she slowly turned around. She had been harassed by plenty of men since landing on Earth. Men who promised they would take her in if she did them…services…as payment. She didn't think she could take anymore. Especially not tonight._

 _But she was slightly surprised to see a teenager who did not look too much older than she was. His hair was plastered to her face, much as her long locks were sticking heavily to her back at the moment from the rain. He had kind eyes as he held his umbrella over her._

" _Kind of a bad day to be caught out here without an umbrella, isn't it?"_

 _Cress didn't know why but as soon as she opened her mouth to reply, a sob escaped. The boy raised his eyebrows as she let out a wail, covering her mouth as she tumbled down to her knees._

" _H-Hey!" he said, bending down with his umbrella, looking around nervously, then placing a hand on her head. "Hey, it's alright. It'll be okay…." When she did not reply he said sheepishly, "I'm Kai."_

" _I-I'm sorry…K-Kai…," Cress choked out, her embarrassment making her cry even more._

 _Kai rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. "Hey, let's get out of here."_

Kai was just a normal freshman in community college who had let her stay in his basement for a couple of days. It turned out that his father was in the hospital and his mother had passed away years ago so Kai was often in the house by himself for days on end. She had only been discovered by a family friend who checked on Kai from time to time whose name was Torin.

Though Kai had said he would talk to Torin, Cress had refused to stay any longer, not wanting to cause trouble.

She hadn't seen him since then.

He looked up when her shadow shielded him from the sun, his already slanted eyes squinting even more against the intensity of the sunlight as he tilted his head upwards.

"K-Kai?" she asked nervously.

He blinked before recognition slowly graced his features. "Cress?" he asked incredulously, quickly standing up. A blush tinged the tips of his ears as he looked her over.

"What were you doing sitting on the sidewalk," she asked.

"Well…I was just...," Kai sighed, defeated, and ran a hand through his spiky black locks. "Honestly, I don't know. I just didn't feel like being at home…it's so…empty."

Cress bit her lip, not sure if she should ask about his father or not. So instead she said, "walk with me?"

He grinned and nodded, following her as she continued her trek.

"No offense or anything," Kai said, "but you look the cleanest I've ever seen you. You even got a haircut."

Cress grinned and nodded excitedly, "you'll never believe what happened to me!"

She animatedly told him about Thorne, who unlike Winter, knew exactly who she was talking about. Walking with Kai made the time pass quickly.

"He can be really annoying sometimes," she said, finishing up her story about how last week he had made her run around looking for the perfect tie, "but he can be really sweet too. He's smart and funny and at least he's not bad to look- um!" Cress blushed and stopped walking, shaking her head. "I have no idea why I just said that."

Kai laughed loudly and shrugged. "Sounds like you've got a thing for Thorne. Like every other teenage girl who's seen him in a magazine."

Cress pouted and crossed her arms. "I do not! He's just my boss."

"Suuureeee. And I'm the emperor of the Eastern Commonwealth."

They stopped at an apartment complex made from brick that Cress absentmindedly ran her fingers against. She looked at the netscreen that was embedded in the brick with names by each button going down vertically.

"Oh. Linh. This must be it," she said softly. She didn't want Kai to leave. It was nice having a friend who felt like a brother to talk to. Sure, she loved to talk to Scarlet when she came over to cook, but Scarlet could be a bit…intense…

"Comm me sometimes?" Kai asked, holding up his port. Cress grinned and nodded and they exchanged information. "It was great to see you, Cress. Especially since you're doing so well for yourself now," Kai said, pulling her into a warm goodbye hug.

"Thorne's going to totally blow a fuse when he finds out you're cheating on him."

Cress squeaked and quickly backed away from Kai, a blush spreading down her neck. She whipped around to find Iko and a brown haired girl wearing thick brown gloves, a white tank top and green cargo pants standing in the doorway.

"I…this isn't-! Thorne and I aren't even dating!" Cress huffed, causing the brown haired girl to smirk and Iko to tap her foot and place her hands on her hips.

"Not yet anyways," Iko replied smoothly before looking Kai up and down, "Then again, he could have some competition with this looker."

Kai's blush was enough to make Cress smack a hand against her own forehead.

"You must be Cress," the brunette suddenly spoke up. She held out her hand, which Cress shook politely.

"That's right," she replied with a nod. "Thorne sent me to pick up his suits," she continued, looking towards Iko.

"Oh yeah, the suits!" Iko said. "I'll be right back!"

As Iko ran back up the steps leading to the apartment Cinder sent an apologetic look towards Cress. "Sorry. Sometimes I swear her memory bank is on the fritz."

Cress giggled and Kai smiled down at Cinder. "Hey, you go to my school."

Cinder blinked and looked Kai up and down. "Hm…yeah, I do I guess."

Kai smiled and extended a hand towards Cinder, which she slowly took and shook. "Actually, I noticed you before…I just never knew what to say…or could come up with an excuse to talk to you before now."

Cress was fairly sure that Cinder was about to blush, but instead the brunette averted her eyes and ran her gloved hand against her arm. "Oh…" she said lamely.

The awkward moment was interrupted when Iko came bounding back down the stairs with two large shopping bags.

"Thanks Iko," Cress said, taking the unexpectedly heavy bags from her.

"No problem," Iko replied happily.

"Nice meeting you," Cinder said to Cress and then looked at Kai, "um…see you in school?"

"Of course," Kai replied smoothly. Cress could have sworn that she saw Cinder give a happy little smile as she quickly turned away to walk down the street with Iko bounding behind her.

 **Cress, At Your Service!**

Cress didn't get home until the sun was setting. Kai had been thoughtfully quiet until they had gone their separate ways but had promised to comm her. She was thankful to be home as she entered the passcode to open the door and walked in.

Home.

She absentmindedly wondered when she had started thinking of this place as her home as she flopped on to the couch and turned on her port to pick up the newsfeed.

 **BREAKING NEWS: LUNAR FOUND IMPERSONATING QUEEN MARY.**

Cress felt her heart thud against her chest as if it were trying to jump out of it. She quickly scrolled down and clicked play on the video before turning the sound up. A woman with gray hair and watery eyes spoke into a microphone that was being held by a tall woman with black hair in a skirt-suit.

"She glamoured all of us! We never would've suspected anything if I hadn't entered her room while she was asleep and seen her when she didn't have her glamour up. I quickly got help and we administered a drug into her system to keep her asleep so that we could transfer her out of the building and turn her over to the proper authorities. I'm sure they're keeping her heavily sedated so that she can't use those freakish powers anymore."

The journalist nodded and held the mic to her own lips. "This is of course following the same news from last week of a similar occurrence. As of right now there is no word whether or not Queen Levana of Luna has anything to do with this and of how the leaders of the world will react to these strange and horrifying occurrences."

Cress took a deep breath as the journalist continued, "The nations are surely in danger. Anyone could be a suspect if Lunars are slowly invading Earth and are strategically placing themselves in positions of power. Surely we must ask ourselves: Can anyone be trusted?"

"Cress! I'm home!"

Cress turned the feed off, nearly jumping out of her skin when Thorne suddenly came sweeping in around the corner, pulling his tie off in the same instant. He smiled tiredly at her. "How was your day? What did Scarlet cook? I'm starved."

Cress hurriedly put away her port and grinned nervously at him. "It was good. I picked up your suits from Iko. I'm not sure what Scarlet made, I just got home not too long ago too."

Thorne nodded and plopped on the couch beside her. "Well, aren't you helpful."

Cress stuck out her tongue at him and flicked his forehead. "Yeah, because _someone_ seems to think that a maid's job is the same thing as a personal assistant."

"Isn't it?"

Cress rolled her eyes and Thorne smiled boyishly. "Hey, let's do Chinese food and a movie."

"What about what Scarlet left for us?"

Thorne shrugged. "It'll be there for tomorrow."

Cress sat up and looked at him. His tie off and his immaculately pressed shirt was unbuttoned down to his chest, he looked strangely innocent yet sexy at the same time. Her face heated as she thought about several weeks ago…a drunken Thorne looking at her with an intensity that had made her squirm and flee from the room, not sure what to do. He had looked at her with something than he had done Jira and her friend.

It had shocked her. But she knew that it was a false hope. He would never look at her like that if he were sober. Just like he wasn't looking at her like that now.

Still, it was nice that he didn't come home and go straight to his room. He wanted to spend time with her.

After the takeout was delivered, Cress picked perhaps the cheesiest movie in history and settled down on the couch next to Thorne in her sky blue pajama pants and a white tank top. Thorne sat on the couch in a plain white t-shirt and grey sweatpants, grabbing a carton and eating straight out of it with chopsticks. Cress let her eyes roam over him for a minute. His hair was still slightly wet from the shower he had just taken, making his dark hair an even darker shade of brown. She could smell his cologne wafting off of him but it wasn't overpowering or too spicy…it smelt clean and nice.

"What?" Thorne suddenly asked, looking up at her with intense blue eyes. "I have something on my face?"

Cress felt her face heat up and she looked away, grabbing her own carton and a fork. "N-no. You're fine."

About a half hour into the movie and after they finished eating, Cress eyed Thorne out of the corner of her eye and found him scrolling through his port screen.

"Hey, you're not watching the movie!" Cress scolded, smacking him with a pillow against his arm.

"I'm a busy man," Thorne replied with a teasing smirk, looking at her now out of the corner of his own eyes. "Plus this movie is the sappiest chick-flick I've ever seen in my life."

"It's a great story if you would just _watch_ it," Cress rebutted, crossing her arms over her chest and pouting.

"Aw, is wittle Cress gwonna cry," Thorne teased, tickling her sides suddenly. Cress let out a loud laugh, surprised at the sudden tickle harassment.

"H-hey! Stop!" she cried, smacking him with her couch-pillow again.

"Oh, so you want to play dirty, huh?"

A second after the pillow hit her side she tumbled to the white carpeted floor. She looked up to a shocked looking Thorne and scowled.

"Aces, I'm sorry Cress. I guess I'm strong than I-"

"HI-YAH!"

A pillow-smack in the face shut Thorne up quickly, causing him to tumble to the floor this time.

"Okay, that's it!" he laughed.

They tossed pillows at each other, Thorne being surprisingly agile at dodging Cress' attacks. She lunged forward, a pillow in front of her, but he easily sideswiped her. Eyes widening, she realized that she had lost her footing and reached out her hand to grab something- anything- to steady her.

She let out a shriek and closed her eyes as her fingers wrapped in Thorne's shirt as she fell.

Groaning, she slowly opened her eyes then blinked rapidly when she found herself staring into Thorne's. A blush crept up her neck as she realized that he was on his back on the floor and that she was _on top_ of him. Every nerve in her body seemed to ignite. She was clutching his shirt in her fist tightly, her legs were entangled in his, her chest was on top of his. She could feel his hard abs against her stomach where her shirt had ridden up. She could feel the gentle rise and fall as he breathed in and out. She could feel the way his hands were set gently on the small of her back, warm and comforting.

She wanted to move but she also _didn't_ want to move, afraid to break the moment but afraid for it to continue. Could he feel the same fire she was feeling deep in the pit of her stomach?

"I'm sorry!" she suddenly said loudly, rolling off of him and scooting her butt across the carpet to put space in between them.

She knew she was totally out of line. How could she have dared to linger there for so long with her _boss?_ With someone who could have any girl he wanted? Why would he want her? A Plain Jane that he paid to clean his room.

'Stupid…stupid…' she thought, standing to her feet. She looked at Thorne as he slowly rose off of the floor. His expression was totally blank and devoid of any telling-emotion. He didn't even wear his usual teasing smirk. That confirmed it. 'Of course he didn't feel anything…'

"Goodnight, Captain," she said quietly, running out of the room like a frightened mouse. Making it to her room, she felt a lump of tears in her throat.

Thorne was totally off limits. Even if he was nice to her. Even if he was funny and smart and looked great in t-shirts and sweatpants.

He would never want her anyways.

* * *

What was this feeling?

Disappointment? Bitterness? Dejection?

Thorne couldn't quite put a finger on the proper adjective to describe his emotions.

He had had many pillow fights in his time, many of them ending up with him on top of a girl or vice versa. They always ended up _that_ way.

That was nothing new.

What was new for him was the way his heart had hammered against his chest when Cress had looked down at him, her lips slightly parted, her face so close that he could see every freckle sprinkled across her cheeks, her short hair practically falling into his face.

He knew that it wasn't just that he wanted to sleep with her- of course he had had to muster up every ounce of strength in his body so that he wouldn't react…but it was something more. Even just a kiss would have sufficed.

No, he didn't just want Cress in bed…he wanted to make love to her. And _that_ thought scared the hell out of him.

He quickly pushed the thought to the back of his mind as he checked her room door for a light underneath. The room seemed completely dark which meant that she had gone to bed. Good.

Turning, he walked down several hallways until the door with the lock-pad on it was several feet away from him.

He couldn't let himself fall for Cress. She was his employee. She was sweet, perhaps the most intelligent person he had ever met…she didn't know that money truly was the root of all evil.

Pressing in the password, Thorne heard the familiar soft beep and the door opened automatically, letting him inside for another late, lonely night.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you everyone so much for your review, favorites and subscriptions! I didn't get to reply to any reviews, but please know that I do read them and appreciate them. The day after I posted the last chapter a friend of mines passed away. I didn't feel like writing any more but just two days ago I reread the reviews and my inspiration returned to me. Thank you all so much.**

* * *

"Careful with that, please...Oh, this way…Set that right there. Thank you."

Cress marked another item off of the checklist and scribbled down a note to herself to check in on Scarlet soon. She underlined the note before scurrying further into the backyard with the deliveries, intent that everything would be properly organized just the way she had planned.

Leave it Thorne to order a giant ice sculpture of his own face for a party.

The sun would be setting soon, signaling that it was almost time for the party to begin. Seven o'clock sharp. That was what Thorne had wanted. She would have to change clothes before then.

A wave of sadness ran through her, the same bout of sadness she had been having all week, giving her pause as she surveyed Thorne's massive backyard. She didn't come back here often simply because she found that she didn't have enough time with all of the errands she found herself doing on a daily basis. That, or hanging out with Thorne.

The pool had been uncovered earlier, made to be sparkling clean before being filled with fresh cold water though the guests would be too dressed up in dresses and tuxes to bother with swimming. Cress knew that it was only there for show in this case.

Tables and chairs with spiraling backs and legs were delivered earlier this morning and placed all over the yard where the concrete spread. Fancy little lamps were set in the center of each table, circled by new silverware, plates, and decorated tablecloths that were sure to either be tucked into a gentleman's collar or placed daintily on a woman's lap. The name-cards that she had personally designed were the last decorations the tables needed. Every guest had a place to sit according to who Thorne wanted to sit close to and did not.

Lights hung from the porch, the trees and the stage that had been built earlier this week where the band would soon be setting up.

Honestly, Cress thought this would be a beautiful place for a wedding.

But never mind that. She had to stop making herself sad, filling her own head with all of these fantasies. She was making herself sick. She shook her head, ridding herself of the thoughts, and hurried over to check on the stage.

Besides, she wouldn't be a part of the party anyways.

* * *

A bad taste was in Thorne's mouth. All week over the phone, Cress had been acting strangely and it wasn't sitting right with him at all. He had tried everything to get her to cheer up. He'd even promised to sit and watch that embarrassingly sappy movie with her. So why did her voice sound so monotone whenever he spoke to her?

He thought back to the last time he had seen her last week. Everything had seemed fine when she had come out of her room the morning after their pillow fight. He had been rushing to stuff a piece of toast in his mouth while simultaneously putting his tie on.

"What are you doing?" Cress came around the corner with an eyebrow raised, pulling her fluffy robe tightly around her neck.

"Breakfast," Thorne replied, taking the toast from his mouth and sitting it on the clean counter, then snatched it back when Cress glared at him. "Sorry," he said with a wince.

She rounded the corner completely and sat on one of the stools in front of the breakfast bar. Thorne got a brief flashback from the first night she had been in his house sitting in that exact seat while he warmed up leftovers for her and listened to her stomach growl loudly. He had to refrain from chuckling at the memory.

"Aren't you going to be late to work," she asked as he poured himself and then her a glass of orange juice.

"I'm the boss. I decide when I want to go in," he replied matter-of-factly and took a sip of the cold beverage. "Besides, aren't you happy to have company in the morning for once?"

He watched her slowly sip from her glass then sit down. He didn't miss the quick lick of her cute pink lips.

Aces, he had to stop watching this girl so intently. He figured he must be some type of masochist- torturing himself this way. He had been through this already last night. He had come to a firm conclusion. Cress was his maid. A business partner. No funny business.

Cress tilted her head to the side. "Hmm…it _is_ nice having you arou- I mean…not that company in general isn't great!"

Thorne nodded. He turned to put the orange juice back into the refrigerator. "Oh, that's right!" he said with a snap of his fingers then turned back around and splayed his hands out on the counter. "I'm having a party next week."

Cress nearly choked on her juice.

"W-what?" she sputtered.

A slow grin spread across his face. "Yup. I haven't had one of my famous parties for famous people in a long time. I have a reputation to keep, you know."

Cress nodded with large blue eyes so Thorne continued, "good thing I have you this time. Work has been pretty hectic lately and I'll actually be away traveling to several photo-shoots in L.A. this week so we won't see each other for a while. Scarlet can help you. You two are going to be perfect for this! Plus, I'll pay you extra for two weeks."

"S-so you want me to plan the entire thing? I don't know anything about fancy parties!" she practically yelled.

Thorne shrugged. "You're great at research, sweetheart. You're the only one I trust with this job. I want you to be the head maid in charge during the party too. Make sure everything is in order like you always do."

"So…you want me to work during the party."

"That's right," Thorne nodded, "epic payday and experience!"

Cress nodded. "I'll try my best."

It was the perfect plan. Not only was he asserting his role as boss and therefore defining their relationship better without actually having to say anything, but he had even offered more pay! He thought she would love that. Heck, who wouldn't love that?

Gritting his teeth, he stepped out of his hover and walked to his home.

Home, sweet home.

He wondered where Cress was as he smiled and nodded at Scarlet, who was busy overseeing the many chefs that were hustling around the kitchen. Thorne didn't miss the way her eyes lit up when she caught sight of who was behind her.

He had hired Ze'ev, or Wolf as per his code-name decreed, as his personal bodyguard just before he had left town. Scarlet had been the one to strongly suggest it. And he had to admit- Wolf kept an eye on him as if he were a newborn pup in a pack. Still, his eyes quickly stole a look at Scarlet before trailing dutifully right back to Thorne.

Thorne smiled knowingly and waved a hand, "might as well help Scarlet and the others carry stuff. If I'm not safe in my own home, then I've got a problem."

Wolf's only reply was a grunt as he turned to Scarlet and Thorne slowly left the scene. All week he had been thinking of her. He had never realized how lonely he could be without her company. He had sent her several texts, found himself daydreaming about the way she laughed, walked, the little pouty face she made sometimes.

He couldn't get her out of his head.

Workers were filing in from the backyard. Thorne nodded at them, standing to the side as they passed before slipping through the glass door. He surveyed the backyard, pleased at the setup, his eyes wandering until they landed on her.

She was standing with her clipboard, talking to a guy who was setting up a microphone. He drank in the sight of her; her hair had grown at least an inch since he had arranged for Iko to cut it. She wore simple skinny jeans, a white scoop neck t-shirt, a sleeveless denim vest and pink flats.

She was simplicity as its best.

Thorne had been surrounded by supermodels all week but none of them made him want to stare all day long. None of them held his attention for longer than a fleeting moment.

He found his feet moving of their own accord. Towards her. Up the short staircase of the stage. Standing next to her as the man she was talking to turned and walked away, bounding down the staircase to retrieve more equipment.

"You're back," she said, stating the obvious. He thought he saw a trace of joy in her eyes but the look was gone as quickly as it came as she looked down at her clipboard. "Setup is just about finished. We're right on schedule."

"Great," he said with a grin, "I told you that you were the perfect girl for the job!"

She visibly stilled, her fingers gripping the clipboard harder. "Yes…well, I tried my best."

Thorne frowned and took the clipboard from her hands, forcing her to look up at him. "Cress. What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she replied immediately, taking the clipboard back.

His frown deepened. He took a step towards her, tilting her chin up with a thumb on her chin and his index finger beneath it. "What's going on with you? You've been acting weird lately."

She bit her lip and snatched her head away. She shrugged. "It's nothing, I swear. Now go change before you make us get off schedule. Your guests will be arriving in less than two hours. I know how long it takes you to do your hair."

He would have laughed at the quip if she didn't seem like she halfway meant it.

He was at a loss for words. And that was something. Carswell Thorne was _never_ at a loss for words.

He wracked his brain for answers. Maybe her Aunt Flow was visiting, causing her bad mood? But every time he mentioned the party she seemed to get angrier. Maybe she didn't actually want to plan this party for him and didn't want to say so because she thought it was her duty? Was he asking for too much?

Thorne watched her retreat back into the house, a hollow feeling expanding in his chest.

* * *

She did her best to avoid Thorne for the next couple of hours. She had checked in on Scarlet and the other chefs. All of the dinner would be ready and piping hot for the guests. The waitresses and waiters had arrived in pristine white collared shirts, black pants and shoes so Cress changed her outfit to match theirs.

She was the help after all. She might as well look the part, she figured.

But the more she thought about it, the angrier she got, which made her even angrier.

She had no right to be angry, she knew that. Thorne just wanted her to do her job. He was even paying her extra to do it.

Just before the sun began to set, the guests started to roll in. The women all looked beautiful dressed in short dresses that accentuated their curves just right. The men with dates looked proud to have the ladies on their arms and the men without stared longingly at the single women. Cress recognized a lot of the faces. Singers and models, mostly. Cress supposed that actors and actresses were too tame for Thorne to party with, though there were a few in the mix. Rock music carried from the stage, a song Cress didn't know and probably never would. People danced, laughed, wined and dined.

It was an hour into the party and he still had not come down from his room. Cress walked into the kitchen, where Scarlet was making a fancy drink.

"Have you seen Thorne?" she asked.

Scarlet raised an eyebrow then chuckled. "He always likes to make a grand entrance at these things."

"Of course," Cress resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"You've been pretty quiet all day," Scarlet said.

Cress bit the inside of her cheek. "I've just been busy."

"Hmm," Scarlet handed the tray of now filled glasses to a waitress, "seems like you're kind of mad at Thorne."

Cress cringed. "Is it that obvious?"

Scarlet shrugged. "Usually you two are glued together at the hip. He was gone for a week and you've barely said a word to him."

Cress felt a blush creeping up on her cheeks but shook her head anyways. "We are not always joined at the hip! We just live together."

Scarlet gave her a _I'm not an idiot_ look.

"Have you _told_ him you're angry?" Scarlet went on, changing the subject, "he may be a business-tycoon but you'd be surprised how much of an actual idiot he is."

Cress shook her head again. "It sort of feels like the reason I'm angry isn't really a good reason to be angry."

"Doesn't matter. If you're angry, you're angry."

Cress opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off when the sound of cheers and clapping reached her ears. Scarlet grabbed her hand and hurried her to the glass door. They stepped out into the backyard. A chill passed over Cress as the breeze hit her. She supposed that all of the liquor that everyone was drinking was keeping them warm.

"…thank everyone for coming," Thorne was saying into the microphone. Cress' heartbeat sped up immediately. His collared shirt was slightly undone; his tie was loose around his neck. His hair was tousled artfully. He looked great. Cress felt even smaller than she already had in her waitress get-up. His blue eyes washed over the crowd until they finally pinned Cress right in place.

"And I'd especially like to thank the person who set this all up for me."

Her heart stopped.

"If it wasn't for her, none of this would be possible. You all know that I enjoy to throwing parties. I've been so busy that I haven't had time to lately. But the lovely blond right there… _Cress_ took on the responsibility of planning it all."

At that moment he pointed at her. Eyes shot towards her.

Out of all the times Cress had imagined herself as someone who was famous, someone who enjoyed the spotlight, she had never imagined it feeling this way. She was certain she was red from head to toe. She wrapped her arms around herself, barely feeling the reassuring touch Scarlet placed on her back.

People stared. Women started to whisper.

"Everyone, let's thank Cress!" he said, holding up a glass of white wine. "Cheers!"

Most people raised their glasses and repeated the sentiment. Some even clapped and cheered. But there were jealous glares too.

The music started to blare again.

Cress sighed as the attention moved away from her. Scarlet gave her a sympathetic smile before someone dropped a glass. Her temper flaring, Scarlet shouted out a "hey!" before stomping off.

As if waiting for their cue, the hyenas started to surround her.

Jira's eyes flashed. She hadn't seen her since that night she had been on Thorne's couch, giggling away.

" _Cress_ ," she said her name as if it were something that tasted funny. "So you're still Carswell's maid. How cute."

Cress tried to stand tall and straight, but it didn't help her ego one bit. Jira was impossibly beautiful tonight, her glittery short dress accentuating her hips and chest perfectly. "You wouldn't mind getting me a drink, would you hun?"

Cress knew that Jira was playing on the day they had first met. Her mind flashed back to how she had tried to please Jira for Thorne's sake. How she had wanted to prove that she was a good maid.

Cress wasn't the fighting type. She knew that from years of being stuck in a satellite. She wouldn't gouge anyone's eyes out and she couldn't imagine trying to use a weapon on anyone. She had used her intelligence to get out of that satellite. Her intelligence was all she had.

But now even her intelligence seemed useless. There were no computers around. She couldn't hack into Jira's brain. She couldn't even glamour her.

Her brain was full of rock music, the dancing and drinking. It was a wonder that the press didn't show up here and see all of these famous people acting like fools.

The only one who seemed in control was Jira.

"I'm sure Thorne is happy to have someone around to do all of bidding while he sleeps around."

Cress snapped back to life. "Thorne doesn't sleep around. He only brings women around for business, like you." She didn't know why she said it, but something in her made her want to defend Thorne. What right did people have to say mean things about him when they didn't even know him? They didn't live with him, so they wouldn't know. "Y-you guys aren't good enough for that." She was growing braver. Maybe getting contact-drunk was a thing. She clenched her fists at her sides and swallowed the lump in her throat, staring Jira down.

Jira narrowed her eyes at her. "One: And you think someone as plain as you has a chance with him? Two: You haven't gotten that drink yet, _maid._ "

"One: I think someone like you never will. Two: T-that's because I'm not going to," Cress hated the way her voice wavered, but at least she had said it.

"I suppose I should tell Thorne that you're refusing to do your job then," she taunted.

"Thorne honestly doesn't give a damn."

Both Jira and Cress started. Jira turned to see Thorne standing directly behind her. His eyes were smoldering hot despite the way he was smirking. He rounded on Jira, simultaneously pushing Cress back with a large hand. "Jira, you're being quite rude to my employee."

Jira scoffed. " _She's_ the rude one!"

"No, actually, you are, sweetheart. And I need you to leave. Save yourself the embarrassment and do it quietly."

Jira gaped at Thorne openly before regaining her usual regal composure. She matched Thorne's smirk and took a step toward him. Reaching out a hand, she pulled at his tie playfully, "Carswell, have you forgotten our business deal? You wouldn't want to give up that profit would you? Besides, this girl needs to learn her place."

Thorne put his hand on Jira's, stopping her fiddling. His voice was low, tight as he bent down and whispered in Jira's ear almost seductively, "no, but I'm about to teach you yours." He stood straight and signaled to a large man who was standing not too far away.

Cress' eyes widened as he moved heavily through the crowd, his green eyes gleaming with a ferocity that made her take a cautious step back. Jira did the same as the hulking man stood directly in front of her.

"Wolf, please escort Ms. Jira off of the premises," Thorne told him.

Wolf nodded and hooked his arm around Jira's. To the eyes of everyone at the party, it looked as if Wolf was friendly enough as he began to walk, easily taking Jira with him in a show of silent strength.

"You'll regret this," Jira could only turn her head, "You'll regret this!"

Her words were washed away by the music. Cress stood there awkwardly staring at the doorway before Thorne placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You alright, sweetheart?"

Cress nodded numbly. "Mind if I go to my room now?"

"Cress- "

"I just want to be alone."

* * *

He didn't manage to send everyone off until nearly five in the morning. He was exhausted and he hadn't even had fun. He was too busy thinking about Cress and he knew that drinking wouldn't fix his dour mood. The house was a wreck, but he had already called a maid service for the day so that Cress could take the day off.

As he walked slowly past her room, he was surprised to hear the faint sound of water running. Sighing, he leaned his back against the wall. He had lost an important asset to his company last night, but that wasn't what was making him feel so crappy. Was Cress still mad at him?

He slid to the floor and crabbed the fluffy carpet in his hands. Then he trailed his hands through his hair. He would wait for her. Eyes heavy, he drifted off and on until his heart nearly stopped as gravity seemed to give way and he fell backwards.

Blinking, he stared up at the ceiling from on his back. Blue eyes and freckles came into view.

"What are you doing?"

He tried to smile. "Waiting for you, of course." He stood up, towering over Cress' short stature. "Mind if I come in?"

She nodded slowly and made room for him to enter. He paced back and forth then slapped his hands together and stared at her.

"I'm sorry."

Cress sighed, looked away. "You don't have any reason to be."

"Yes, I do. I shouldn't have poured all of that work on you, Cress. I'm sorry. I just though…well, you seemed like the type that would like the responsibility. And I wanted a reason to give you some extra pay…I thought- "

"Please, just stop." She squeezed her eyes shut tight, shaking her head vehemently. When she opened them again she had tears threateningly to spill out.

Thorne was at a loss. "Cress?"

"Y-you just don't get it!"

"Explain, sweetheart."

"Don't call me that," she shook her head again. She sucked in a steadying breath and let it out, swiping angrily at her tears. "I don't mind the responsibility…I just thought that…it would have been nice to have been invited to the party- which I know is overstepping my boundaries! That's why you have nothing to be sorry for! It's just me. I just need to learn my place, like Jira said. So I'm sorry. I"

Thorne felt as if his head was underwater. Cress looked as if she were shocked at her own words.

His carefully constructed glass wall shattered in an instant. Before he had met Cress, he had no problem hurting a woman's feelings. She'd get over it.

But Cress was different. They were boss and employee. He had originally planned for Cress to do something horrible, all in the name of money. But every thought of that was out of the window now.

Because they were more than just boss and employee now…

He crossed the room in two strides, pulling her arm gently until her face landed in his chest. For the first time in his life, Thorne stumbled for the right words to say. "You… aren't just an employee, you know. You haven't been for a long time…and I tried to ignore that."

Cress sniffled.

He chuckled bitterly. "This isn't going to work, is it?"

She snaked his arms up his back then clenched her small hands in his shirt, not saying anything. But he knew that she was just as afraid as he was. He rubbed her hair in what he hoped was a soothing matter.

He was Carswell Thorne. Known for being a most-wanted bachelor. A business-tycoon that had recently delved into the world of modeling. He was constantly surrounded by women, money and power. Yet everyday all he could think about was how he wanted to be in her vicinity. He'd rushed home just to be near to her, just so he could gab to her, just so he could see her.

One orphan who had broken into his computer lab and became his live-in had torn down his walls without him even realizing she was beating away at them.

He swallowed and pushed her back by the shoulders, revealing her reddened, puffy face. "Cress, I'm really sorry about last night. So let me make it up to you."

"I'm listening…I guess."

"Come with me to the charity ball in two weeks. I usually take some model or whoever…but let me take you. Get you a beautiful dress and let everyone see you…" he swallowed. Man, since when had he been such a chicken? "Let everyone see you on my arm, Cress."

"I- I wouldn't know how to act or what to say in front of all of those people!"

"Who cares?" he grinned cheekily, "I'll much more fun with you than anyone else. You'll be the toast of the party. My personal party, anyways."

Cress seemed hesitant but slowly nodded.

He tilted her chin up, "you won't be disappointed."

He didn't know who leaned in first. Did he? It certainly felt as if gravity was pulling him towards her- as if everything in the air wanted his lips to be on hers.

He kissed her gently, savoring the feel of her soft lips against his for the first time. He slowly coaxed her lips with his own and she returned the favor, suddenly leaning more into the kiss. Every nerve in his body seemed to light up. He had kissed plenty of women, it was true.

But none of them made him feel like this.

He groaned lowly and pulled her closer. Her little gasp was music to his ears and he took the opportunity to taste her and gently nip on her lower lip. She tasted like salted caramel and all things good in the world.

He kissed her silly until they had to come up for air.

They stared at each other, breathing heavily. He stared at her lips before looking at her eyes. She clasped her hands in front of her, a shy smile breaking out on her face.

"I like you, Captain."

"I like you too, Cress."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Man, time passes quickly. Sorry for the slow updating! But please know that I do plan on finishing this story. I actually only have a few more chapters left. Thank you all for your reviews, faves and follows! They really motivate me to keep going.**

Cress could have slept for the entire day, if it were not for the sunlight streaming in through her window. The warm rays on her cheek and shining behind her closed eyes was enough to rouse her. She opened her eye slowly, her senses leisurely coming alive as she turned from her side onto her back.

The first thing she noticed was the smell of bacon.

Burning bacon, to be exact.

"What-?!" she flopped out of bed, her foot getting caught in her sheets and fell onto the floor with a thud that made her teeth chatter. Nonetheless, Cress unraveled herself and sprinted out of her room, down the stairs and rushed into the kitchen.

A coughing Thorne but several pieces of bacon on a plate with scrambled eggs and the fluffiest pancakes Cress had ever seen.

"Thorne, what's going on in-" she stopped mid-sentence, finally able to notice his Sunday morning attire now that she was sure that the house wasn't on fire.

He turned to her and gave her a cheeky grin, twirling a spatula in his hand. He was wearing pajama pants, no socks and no shirt other than the pink apron that said **Kiss the Cook** tied around his front. His hair was disheveled but his blue eyes shone with that confident, all-knowing way that was so common for him despite the fact that there was an entire plate of burnt bacon just inches away from him.

He scooted the plate closer to her on the breakfast bar. "Voila! A pretty breakfast for a pretty girl…with extra crispy bacon."

Cress stood flabbergasted for a few seconds before slowly sitting on the stool. Thorne looked like a pleased child as he placed the syrup and eating utensils within her reach. He was practically jumping in place.

Her first bite into the pancake told her all she needed to know.

Thorne actually had cooking skills despite the fact that Scarlet cooked all of his meals.

"This is great," she said between bites, "thank you, Captain…and nice apron."

Thorne grinned, "I bought this for Scarlet for Christmas last year. She punched me in the chest for some reason and never wore it."

"Maybe she doesn't want everyone going around kissing her."

"You're probably right. Even I only want one person kissing me."

Cress nearly choked on her food as her face immediately reddened. The look Thorne was giving her was about to make her turn into a puddle of girl-goo.

'Right…we're t-together now' she thought, 'of course he's going to openly flirt with you.'

She hated herself for not coming up with a quick, sexy comeback when Thorne turned and began clearing the dishes away. All she could do was stare at his rather strong and entrancing back and daydream about running her hands down it.

'Pull yourself together, Crescent! You got what you wanted, so do something about it!' she told herself. Now that they weren't just employer and employee anymore, she wanted to secure her position in his life somehow. But the only thing she knew about dating was what she had seen on net-dramas.

"We should go on a date," Thorne said matter-of-factly.

Cress smiled and nodded, trying to keep her blushing at bay. "That'd be great," she finally responded. Man, she wished she could stop being awkward for two seconds. But the bundle of nerves that was in her stomach seemed to be flying up to her brain. She felt as if she were in a daydream. A really great one.

"What about to an amusement park? There's a new one that just opened not too far from here. It even has a water park," Thorne continued, turning to look at her with expectant eyes.

She opened her mouth to reply, when an idea suddenly formed in her brain. Over the last few months, they had been spending so much time together alone…it was how they had gotten so close in the first place. But not once, other than when he had business partners over or had gone on his business trip, did Cress see Thorne with any friends. Even at the party, he had seemed to do it just because it was his yearly tradition. He didn't seem particularly close with anyone he had invited. So why not make today the day?

"We should invite some friends," she spat out quickly, before she could chicken out and change her mind.

Thorne raised his eyebrows at her. "What friends exactly are we talking about?"

Cress tried not to visibly deflate, but still couldn't stop herself from frowning. "You know…" she responded slowly, "Cinder and Iko, maybe. And Scarlet too!"

Thorne snorted.

Cress stood up and slowly walked towards him. She sucked in a deep breath before wrapping her arms around his waist. Her head barely came up to his chest, but that was okay. She was satisfied with just feeling how sturdy and strong he felt. It was nice to finally be able to be this close. It assured her that she wanted more. So much more for him than he would allow himself.

He was rich, yes. He was handsome, yes. He was charming and thoughtful and fun. But he was someone who had isolated himself before meeting her.

It had to have been only by chance that he had let her into his little bubble at all.

"I thought you said Cinder was your friend when we first met," she said after a while, as he rubbed soothing circles on her back.

"I'm pretty sure that's one-sided," his voice was low and awkward, as if he weren't sure he wanted to share the information at all. "Like I said, she's my mechanic. She doesn't treat me like the greatest bachelor that I am- er, was. That didn't result in romantic feelings or anything…but I took a liking to her. It's fun to annoy her sometimes when I'm bored."

Cress nodded. "Then let me prove to you that you really can be friends with her. And everyone else."

She looked up at him and gave him a gentle smile. "Please, Captain?"

He sighed and rolled his eyes to the ceiling. "Fine. But you better win me a giant stuffed bear."

* * *

It was a warm day, but at least that meant that he got to ogle Cress in her cute blue sundress all day long. The amusement park smelled of popcorn and hotdogs and sweet, sweet cotton-candy. The noises from the roller coasters and other rides didn't seem to bother Cress. Instead, she stared with big blue eyes filled with wonder and excitement.

So were others in their company.

Iko was practically bouncing on the tips of her toes next to Cinder who looked skeptical. Scarlet was standing with her arms crossed and a glint in her eye that made it look as if she were prepared to conquer this entire park. Wolf stood with his usual expression, probably caught in between not quite understanding the concept of being invited on today's trip not as Thorne's bodyguard, but as a friend. Then there was a couple of faces that Thorne had never seen before but that Cress had seemed excited to see.

Kaito, or Kai as he insisted to be called, stood next to Cinder's side looking excited and nervous all at once. Jacin stood with a stony expression that could even rival Wolf's while the beautiful Winter was beaming, ready to get on each and every ride.

Thorne thought they made quite the ragtag group of people, but somehow that thought was a bit comforting. No models. No fans. Just people who were all around his age out to have some good clean fun.

He hadn't had this before. Even before he had taken over his family's businesses and gained his own and delved into the world of modeling, Carswell Thorne had lived a life trying to scam everyone in his nearest vicinity. It was what he did- it was the only thing he knew. Even when he had first met Cress, it had been his intention.

But now…

"Ready?"

He looked down to see a bright eyed Cress holding gently onto his arm. He couldn't help but break out in a grin. "Race you to the Dragon's Might coaster."

* * *

Okay, Cress had to admit that roller coasters weren't exactly as appealing as she thought they would be. Sure, she had seen them on her portscreen. Everyone had looked like they were screaming in delight, not horror! Cress definitely was no stranger to heights. But that was just ridiculous. It was all she could do keep the contents of her stomach down where they were supposed to be.

Dry-heaving into a garbage can filled with hot dogs and discarded candy wrappers wasn't exactly how she planned on her and Thorne's first date to go. At least he was being a gentleman, patting her back gently until she finally felt less dizzy.

"Sorry, sweetheart. I can guess we should've started you out on a smaller ride," he said, pushing her hair behind her ear.

"Sorry," she replied, frowning and looking down, "I'm already ruining all of the fun."

"You kidding me? You're the life of the party," Thorne laughed, "my personal party, of course."

"Cress, Thorne! Look! This is hilarious," Iko exclaimed, barreling her way between them while shoving a small portscreen in their face. "The attendants apparently took this shot at the highest peak of the roller coaster. I paid to get it downloaded onto my port, but it was so worth it. I can send it to you both if you want."

Cress raised her eyebrows and Thorne started to laugh uncontrollably at the picture. The screen showed their group hurtling down on the rollercoaster. Cress had her eyes covered while Thorne was laughing in glee. Scarlet was holding her long, curly locks down, while Wolf's cheeks were practically flapping in the wind, showing his entire mouth. Kai had his eyes closed, his mouth in the perfect 'o'. Cinder was gripping for dear sweet life to the coaster's metal bar while Iko and Winter were laughing with their hands in the sky. Jacin was trying to get Winter to put her hands down firmly on the safety bar.

After Iko turned and showed Cinder the picture, the mechanic gave a dry look. "Well, this picture has…personality, to say the least."

They continued to walk through the park, stopping to ride on several rides. At one point, Winter urged Jacin to win her a bear from a contest where you had to hit the giant sledge hammer down and make the bell go up as far as you could. Jacin grunted and conceded, along with Wolf, Thorne and Kai.

Scarlet blushed slightly but took the giant stuffed wolf that Wolf handed her with a small smile.

"Milady," Thorne said with a flourish of his arm, presenting Cress with the medium-sized stuffed rose that he had won. He had at least bested Kai, who had won a small stuffed bear that he had presented bashfully to Cinder.

"Why, thank you," Cress giggled, taking the toy and hugging it to her chest.

"Awww no one got me anything!" Iko whined, putting her hands on her hips. "You all suck."

"You can have this."

The group turned to see a sandy haired boy and tanned skin who appeared to be about Jacin's age. He stood with a small blue bear. "Not like I have anyone to give it to," the boy continued, stuffing the toy in Iko's arms without her answering.

She blinked, opened her mouth, then closed it. For once, Iko was speechless. Cinder thought that if Iko could blush at the moment, she probably would have.

"I don't need your pity!"

Or not.

Iko huffed and stuffed the toy back into the stranger's arms. "Hmph!" she turned, her blue braids practically hitting him in the face.

"You're the one that was complaining," the blonde retorted.

"Well you're the one that was eavesdropping on a stranger's conversation," Iko growled, "you- you-"

"Liam Kinney," the boy said, "don't call me anything other than my name." He held up a hand to stop her tirade. "Keep the bear. You obviously need someone to vent to." With that, he stuffed the bear back into her hands and turned before she could say anything else.

The group stared in silence as he retreated. Iko huffed again, but didn't throw the toy to the ground or chase after the boy. Instead, she rolled her eyes and turned away.

"Okaaayyyy," Scarlet finally said, breaking the awkward silence that had fell over them all. "Maybe we should all go cool off in that water park."

"I could go for a swim," Kai laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.

 **Cress, At Your Service!**

The changing room for the water park wasn't extremely packed. Cress supposed that it was due to there being so many new rides in the amusement park section. They had all finished changing into their bathing suits and were stuffing their clothes into the lockers.

"Okay, so are you going to tell us what that was about Iko?" Scarlet asked as Cress helped her make sure the top to her red bikini was tied tightly. A spark of envy passed through Cress at how well-endowed Scarlet was. She wondered if Thorne was in to that type of body.

Iko frowned and shrugged, twisting her hips back and forth so that she could see the ruffles of her swim-skirt move in the mirror. "I just didn't want to take that guy's crap, that's all."

"Yeah, sure. And you surely didn't go all gah-gah eyed when you first saw him."

"Yes! It was the same look that you give Wolf," Winter agreed, clapping her hands together cheerfully.

Scarlet went crimson while Cinder and Cress tried in vain to hold back their laughter.

"It must be the same way you look at Thorne," Scarlet teased, flicking Cress on the shoulder. "What's going on with you two anyways?"

The girls went quiet, staring at Cress expectantly. This time, it was her turn to blush.

"W-well," she bit her lip and shrugged, "we're dating now…"

"WHAT," Iko shouted, pushing past Cinder to clasp Cress' hands in her own. "Why did no one tell me this?! Congrats!"

"Oh…thanks," Cress giggled nervously.

"So how does that work? Is he still your boss," Cinder asked innocently, adjusting her simple dark blue one piece before wrapping a beach towel around her waist. She had been the most uncomfortable about showing so much skin. Iko had to practically force her into her bathing suit.

Cress blinked in confusion. She had been so caught up in their newfound relationship that she hadn't even stopped to think about the dynamics of it. Would Thorne still pay her for cleaning the house? Or was she not supposed to do that anymore? Where would she get money from?

"We…haven't really discussed that yet," she admitted, frowning.

Scarlet waved her hand dismissively. "I'm sure you two will figure it all out. Just talk about it. Communication is key."

Winter came up and linked her arm through Cress'. She smiled brilliantly and nodded. "It will all be alright Cress-friend. I've never seen you so happy before."

"That probably has something to do with me being homeless when we first met," Cress laughed lightly, but Winter shook her head back and forth furiously.

"No. I've never seen you so happy before because you have never been so near to being in love before," she said matter-of-factly. As if she were positive. As if Cress didn't think she would spontaneously combust right there on the spot.

"L-love," she whispered. She was sure that her entire body had gone red. She was sure that she would melt right here, right now. Her stomach felt as if a thousand butterflies were fluttering around, ready to fly up and out of her ears and mouths or something crazy like that.

"Alright, alright. Enough chit-chat," Scarlet clapped her hands together, saving Cress from her spiral into becoming a pile of girl-goo. "The guys are probably wondering what's taking us so long."

"Let's get this over with," Cinder mumbled, tightening the knot on her beach-towel.

* * *

It had been awhile since Thorne had hung out with guys his age.

Well, guys his age that weren't worried about their hair, business deals, or if there was a camera around. He had to admit, Jacin, Kai and Wolf weren't all that bad.

And they all had pretty awesome hair, but not as awesome as his, so that was a plus.

"Fans," Wolf, who had his long brown locks pulled back into a ponytail like Jacin's, grunted, nodding his head in the direction of a bunch of girls.

Thorne turned to see a group of women in their lower twenties, giggling and pointing at him. They couldn't see his eyes through his dark shades, so Thorne allowed himself a small pleasure in narrowing his eyes at them. He had been afraid this would happen. It was actually a miracle that they had been the first to notice him, or at least the first to start making a scene of it.

"Carswell Thorne! Mr. Thorne, over here!"

The flash of a netscreen's camera blinked past his vision and Thorne turned to see a guy in a t-shirt and shorts with giant flowers on them.

Paparrazzi.

"It's Thorne!"

"Who's that? Is he famous?"

"He's known as the millionaire bachelor. He's a model and business-tycoon!"

"He's so hot!"

The crowd started to form around them, Wolf frowned and took a stance in front of Thorne, shielding him from the cameras with his muscular body. Kai was paling in the face of so many cameras, and Jacin just looked plain annoyed.

As Thorne searched for an escape route, he looked through the crowd and spotted first Cinder, who was trying to squirm her way through the crowd…and then her.

Cress.

With all of the commotion and pushing to get close to him, the crowd was starting to push and shove each other. She was so small that they were tossing her around as if she were nothing. And she wasn't even shoving back!

"Excuse me," Thorne said, moving easily past Wolf and into the crowd. Girls squealed in delight, but he only had eyes on one. He only had eyes _for_ one.

He grabbed her arm, gently enough not to hurt her but firmly enough to keep her from falling to the ground when she was pushed by a brunette girl. Thorne shot her a look, and the girl practically shriveled away.

She looked adorable in her light pink bikini, but Thorne told himself that now wasn't the time to tell her that, no matter how much he wanted to.

He pulled her to his side, his arm around her small waist, and took off his shades. His audience hushed, but seemed to be stirring in anticipation.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet my girlfriend- Cress."

He heard Cress' squeak of surprise and could practically feel her temperature rising under his arm, but he ignored it.

"That's right everyone. The world's most eligible bachelor is henceforth off the market. Make sure you put it on all of your social media. How about," he grinned, "#Thress?"

He was feeling bold. It was time to wrap this gift with the bow. He dipped Cress down and kissed her on the lips. He could hear girls shrieking in the background but he didn't care about that. He finally released the kiss and pulled Cress up. Yup. She was definitely more red than he had ever seen her before.

"Let's go," he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her back. Their group of friends followed dutifully behind them. When they were a safe distance away from the crowd, Cress finally seemed to come back to life. She dug her heels into the pavement, effectively stopping his march towards the giant waterslide they had agreed to ride together.

"W-what just happened," she asked, big blue eyes staring up at him in bewilderment.

"Well, sweetheart, I just told the world that we're dating," he explained, "so there should be no doubt in anyone's mind that Carswell Thorne is _taken._ "

Cress smiled and opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by Scarlet. "Yeah, and you also guaranteed that she won't be able to walk around in public without everyone knowing exactly who she is."

Thorne gave her a dry look that could probably match Cinder's. "She'll be fine!"

"She'll be followed!" Scarlet shouted, stamping her foot. "Why don't you think before you act for once?"

Thorne narrowed his eyes. He had half the mind to just fire Scarlet right here and now. But something told him that Cress wouldn't be too happy about that.

"This could be bad for her," Scarlet continued. They both looked at Cress then, who seemed to be folding in on herself. She looked desperately from Scarlet to Thorne and back.

"I- I don't think Thorne meant any harm," she squeaked, "I think it was kind of sweet."

"You say that now. When I first started working for him, they had me all over the media, painting me as his daytime whore," Scarlet spat. "And he didn't even do anything to stop them until I said that I would quit."

Cress visibly stiffened.

Heck, everyone did.

Thorne shook his head. "I didn't do anything until then because I didn't know that it was bothering you that much until then. People talk all of the time. It never bothers me. They're just rumors."

"Well it hurt," Scarlet replied.

"Well I'm sorry," Thorne spat back, then sighed, shook his head and dragged a hand down his face. "Aces, Benoit, I didn't realize, okay? And you're right. I probably should have thought about what the consequences could be," he said, looking to Cress, "I just wanted the world to know about us. I'm sorry, Cress…. really, I am."

"I know, Captain."

Stars, she was perfect.

Once again he was reminded why he liked her so much. She was kind and understanding. She didn't judge. She was cute yet feisty at moments, but knew when a fight wasn't necessary and when it was.

That's why he didn't care if Scarlet protested, or how many people took pictures, or who was watching.

He neared her and kissed her- a gentle _thank you for liking me even though I'm an idiot._

* * *

The rest of the day had gone smoothly. They all got on the waterslide and in the pool, where Cress discovered that she had never learned to swim. The thought had never occurred to her. As a shell being used simply for her blood and her genius, Sybil had not bestowed such an important life skill upon her.

It was just another thing that made her thankful that she was on Earth now, with her new friends…with the people she was starting to think of as family.

Tired for the day's festivities, it was all she could do to slink inside of the living room, kick off her shoes, and lay face down on the couch.

"You don't get to rest yet," she heard Thorne's voice say, right before she heard the sound of a grand piano. She looked up and saw Thorne standing, a port in his hands. He set the port down, allowing the music to continue to play, and reached out a hand. "The Fundraiser Dance is tomorrow. I haven't seen your dance skills yet."

"But I told you I can't dance," she squeaked.

"Then let me teach you," he responded.

She hesitantly put her hand in his. He gently pulled her up, his arm slowly coming to wrap around her waist. "Just follow me, sweetheart. Captain Carswell Thorne will never lead you wrong," he said with a wink.

She couldn't help but laugh.

Despite the fact that she stepped on his feet several times throughout the night before she finally got the hang of slow dancing, he never stopped smiling.

And neither did she.


	7. Chapter 7

Cress couldn't help but stare at herself in the body-long, oval-shaped mirror. She had never really thought of herself as a _woman_ before…but tonight, even she could fancy the thought. Her light pink gown flowed down to just above her knees while the illusion neckline was adorned with lace applique and the front bodice cross pleated, strapping tightly around her bosom. Her small pink pearl earrings picked up the gleam of the light whenever she turned her head. Her hair was newly straightened and cut to just below her neck with little tendrils of curls hung down from her temples.

She sucked in a steadying breath and finally exited the ladies room, conveniently placed in the foyer before the ballroom entrance.

And there he was, waiting, as he had promised.

"Ready, beautiful?" he asked with a handsome smile that made her want to pull him in close, whisper for him to just take her home where they could cuddle and maybe do some _other_ things.

But no, Thorne was looking forward to tonight. She had to get her mind out of the gutter. She would not ruin this night for him, no matter how many girls might flirt with him tonight.

Besides, everyone knew now that they were a couple. The ball was in her court.

"Ready," she replied, grinning for the first time since they had arrived, effectively shaking off her nerves.

She slipped her arm into his, feeling the smooth fabric of his suit. Despite the fact that the majority of the men that she could see through the doorway were wearing classic black and white tuxedos, Thorne was wearing a pure white fitted suit jacket and pants and a black tie. Yet as they slowly exited the foyer and into the ballroom, he was practically dripping with confidence. Cress tried her best to match his atmosphere, to begin to blend in with all of these wealthy people, to _belong._

She could barely hear the sound of the quartet playing stringed instruments over her nervous thoughts. Waiters dressed in black and white offered drinks and little foods with toothpicks sticking out of them. She smiled and declined an offer for food, but Thorne swept two flutes of champagne and handed her one, which she accepted.

Might as well loosen up a bit.

Her breath was taken away at the sight of the ballroom. Upon first entering, she noticed the high-ceiling that towered above her. Immense numbers of sparking chandeliers hung from the high-up ceiling, picking up the dazzling glaze of the jewelry that the ladies of the ballroom wore.

The gracefully arched windows were decorated with unstained red curtains, finished with gold trimming. Couches and chairs were spread about the room to facilitate conversation and allow one to have a break from the dance floor. Cress wondered if one chair alone cost more than a small house would.

At the front of the ballroom was a stage, where the quartet was playing.

Cress sipped slowly at her champagne- it was even better than the champagne Thorne had at his house, and _that_ was saying something!

"Ah, Carswell Thorne! The man of the hour!"

Cress held in a squeak when an elderly man walked up to them, a tall woman made even taller by her heels, beside him grinning with her bright red lipstick.

"Westerfield, you never miss an event do you," Thorne laughed. "And Christina, as beautiful as ever."

"Charming, as usual," Christina replied. Her eyes moved to Cress. "And this must be Cress. We saw pictures of you two on the newsfeed."

"Hello," Cress said quietly, but at least managed to without stuttering. Christina's eyes twinkled as Cress reached out to shake her hand. "Nice to meet you, Christina."

"Likewise," the woman replied. "My, you are even more pretty than you were in the pictures. No wonder you managed to scoop up the world's most eligible bachelor."

Cress blushed and Thorne pulled her by the waist to his side. "Hey, no credit for me? Maybe I'm the one that scooped _her_!"

They all shared a laugh, bouncing off witty comments to each other.

Thorne and Westerfield chatted some more, and both herself and Christina took the time to sip at their drinks. This wasn't so bad. Now Cress understood why Thorne hadn't wanted to come here, but did anyways. He moved them through the crowd, greeting and chatting, mostly gossiping, with many different people whose names she started not to bother trying to remember. This was all a business strategy for Thorne; a way to keep in the know and for his face to be remembered.

Perhaps, a way for _her_ to be remembered?

Whatever it was, she didn't mind. If Thorne could watch cheesy romcoms with her throughout the night, she could attend a dance and socialize with a bunch of socialites if he wanted her to.

The music picked up, and Thorne took her empty glass, the second of the night, and placed it on an awaiting waiter's tray. He then swept her to the middle of the dance floor, the one-two-step they had practiced for hours last night jumping to the forefront of her memory.

"Enjoying yourself?" he asked, his blue eyes sparkling in that way they did when he was about to laugh.

She felt light on her feet- maybe she was intoxicated, but she was sure that the happy feeling in her chest had something to do with it too.

She tried to shrug like it was no big deal. "This isn't as bad as I thought it would be. Usually I'm not one for crowds. But everyone has been nice so far."

"They've been cordial, as usual," he frowned slightly, but then squeezed her hand. "You don't have to worry about them anyways. This is _our_ party."

She giggled and nodded. "A party to celebrate _us._ "

"That's right, baby," he winked. She tried not to turn into a pile of girl-goo. Despite the fact that this was a fundraiser, leave it to Thorne to make her feel as if she were the star of the party.

She stopped dancing, her bladder begging her to get the ladies' room immediately. She excused herself, and Thorne nodded.

"I'll be outside- I need some air," he pointed towards the glass door on the far side of the room. "Just go out that way."

She grinned and nodded, hurrying off to do her business. When she was finished, she walked back into the ball room and hurried right over to the glass doors. As soon as she exited the building, the cool night air hit her, chilling her skin a bit yet refreshing her senses at the same time. She walked slowly across the stone pavement, moving towards the pillars, when she spotted Thorne. She walked beside them before she spotted Thorne. He was staring beside the pillar, and he moved behind it.

She giggled, thinking that he was messing with her, wanting her to chase him or something cute along those lines.

Her eyebrows flew to the top of her skull when she finally came up behind him.

She hadn't seen the woman behind the pillar, but now she could see her. Her long brown hair, her skinny body.

The way Thorne was kissing her. He pawed at her body, her hands were running through his hair.

"T-Thorne," she heard herself say, but her voice sounded far away to her own ears. Her throat felt ached, feeling as if she had swallowed a stone that was now lodged inside and wouldn't go down. Her body felt cold yet clammy. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't move.

They broke the kiss and his eyes wandered slowly towards her, dark and lustful. The woman blinked and smirked. "Go away," she said with a wave of her hand, as if she were shooing away an unwanted dog.

She frowned when Cress didn't move.

Thorne blinked once, twice, staring between Cress and the woman, his eyes widening larger than Cress had even seen them before.

"Who are you," he asked, taking a step back.

"Is this an android? Tell me the truth," the woman snapped at Thorne.

"No…" Thorne replied immediately. "She is not an android." He looked horrified, like he wanted to turn and run but couldn't.

Realization dawned on Cress at the same time that it did for the woman. She gave Cress an icy glare, her voice coming out vicious, "you're a _shell_ then."

Her nose turned up in disgust. "I should have everyone at this party attack you. I should have them _kill_ you. You should be dead."

Cress' stomach churned. All of that champagne was about to come back up. How could she had been so stupid?

Her mind played back what she had seen on Thorne's netscreen what seemed like eons ago. What the journalist had been saying- " _The nations are surely in danger. Anyone could be a suspect if Lunars are slowly invading Earth and are strategically placing themselves in positions of power. Surely we must ask ourselves: Can anyone be trusted_?"

Of course a Lunar would be here among the elite. There were probably dozens of them here. She had let her guard down- forgotten that she was a fugitive, let herself be distracted too much by Thorne's love.

Or, what used to be Thorne's love.

Everything was catching up to him, and the Lunar had probably dropped whatever beautiful glamour she had disguised herself with.

"Y-you're a _Lunar_?" If possible, he said the word with as much contempt as the Lunar woman had called her a shell.

The Lunar bristled, but then smirked. "Oh, she's from Luna alright."

Cress closed her eyes, keeping the tears at bay. There was nothing she could do but accept her fate. She didn't have any weapon to knock the Lunar out. She wasn't strong. There was no technology at her fingertips. She would probably have Thorne rip her to pieces with his bare hands right here and now. Even if she ran, she was certain Thorne could catch her.

"Luisa, darling. There you are!"

The Lunar froze, then stared at a group of people coming towards them. She bristled, then smiled. She turned to Cress, "You are luck, shell. I need this night to go perfectly, so I won't have a body on my hands tonight. I believe that your punishment will be doled out to you by this human."

Thorne certainly looked like he wanted to punish her.

The Lunar glided over to the group of people.

Cress breathed a sigh of relief. For all of the Lunar's bravado, she probably wasn't that strong. She couldn't glamour so many people at once. Even if she had told Thorne to take Cress away and get rid of her, there wasn't a guarantee for the Lunar that Cress wouldn't be able to get away in either situation.

But the woman was right- judging by the way Thorne was walking away from her, he wasn't exactly pleased with this situation at all.

"Thorne! Wait," she called, but her voice was swallowed by background noise the moment they stepped back onto the dance floor.

He weaved through the crowds with a grace that she did not possess in her heels. He was out into the foyer near the bathrooms while she was still trying to push her way past dancing couples. When she finally made it outside, he was already halfway into the hovercar.

"Thorne, _please_ ," she begged. He was humiliating her- clearly walking away from her in front of all these people. Was he planning on making her find her own way home?

"Get in," he said.

She hurriedly rushed into the hovercar. The entire ride home, he didn't say anything, so she didn't either. Her mind was reeling and she was becoming a bit dizzy.

When they were finally safely inside of the house, Thorne went straight to the kitchen and began to pour himself a dark liquor. He knocked it back, then two more back to back while Cress stood there awkwardly staring at him.

She sighed and slipped out of her heels.

"Thorne, we should talk about this."

"You mean about how you're a deceitful alien," he spat.

She flinched. "I…I'm not like other Lunars," she explained, her voice shaking. "I can't glamour anyone. That's why she called me a shell. I've never glamoured you, Thorne!"

He poured another glass, but sipped this time. "It doesn't matter. You're still," he sighed and ran a hand down his face. He finally looked at her, his eyes intense and focused. "You're still from Luna. Which means I told the world that I'm dating someone from that evil planet filled with evil people. If anyone finds out, I'm ruined, Cress."

This time, a spark of anger flew through Cress. "But I'm not evil. You could tell them that."

Thorne shook his head. "People don't listen. Everyone already has the idea in their heads that Lunars are manipulative evil beings. I won't be able to change the minds of the people who really matter. And aces, Cress. It means I was housing an illegal alien in my _house_!"

"….was?" she squeaked.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Cress, you can't stand here."

She felt as if the world was about to cave beneath her feet.

He neared her. "We have to get out of here."

"Thorne?" a glimmer of hope sparked in her chest. He took her hand, leading her upstairs.

Somehow she knew where they were going without having to ask. The door with the lock. The door that she wasn't allowed to go through. He scanned his wrist, and to her surprise the scanner opened up, revealing a secret glass compartment. He put his finger against it, a blue light roamed down it, beeped in affirmation, and the knobless door slid open.

Cress stepped into the dark room and it lit up, revealing a small room with a desk covered in binders and paper, a book shelf filled with old books and a window. It reminded Cress of old detective series that she had found on her portscreen.

To top it off, an ancient looking computer sat on the desk. Her eyes widened. Even in her shock, she was itching to touch it.

"I wasn't going to tell you this, but I suppose my plan is back on now," Thorne said. He crossed the room leisurely, then picked up a few of the papers and pressed the button to boot up the computer. "We can get out of here, Cress. If you'll work your magic."

She slowly neared him as he pointed out calculations, names, charts, bullet points. "I learned a long time ago from my father that our businesses were built on our customers…by taking more money from them than what was necessary. These are the names of our most affluent business partners. We can take the money from right under their noses and no one would even know it was us."

As his finger trailed down his list of plans, as he scrolled through the secret documents on the old computer, a sense of dread unfurled in the pit of Cress' stomach. Thorne was talking about stealing, painting it over with pretty words to describe his plans about how she could hack into their accounts, send them off the trail of Thorne's name, put the money in his private account.

"No one would ever know," he kept saying, as if it made it right.

As if she could do this.

"Thorne…" she whispered. Her head was tilted down. She couldn't even bare to look him in the eyes. "Y-you've been planning this since we met?"

"Because I did, we can run. Just you and I," he grabbed both of her hands. "If we're going to be together, we're going to have to run. I can't be with an illegal- "

"Yet you want to do something that is potentially even worse?!" She hadn't meant to shout, but she did. She wasn't sure if it startled her or Thorne more, but either way they both jumped at the sound of her sudden outburst.

He threw her hands down as if they were dirty. This time, he was the one to take a step back. "You've got a lot of damn nerve, Cress. When we first met you had broken into my lab, trying to make an illegal identity!"

Her eyes filled with tears. She shook her head back and forth. "That wouldn't have hurt anyone. That wasn't stealing _money_ that someone _earned._ "

Thorne didn't say anything, so she kept talking. "I thought I knew you…I thought you were a good person. I didn't know that you- you would do something like this."

"And I didn't know that you would endanger everything I've worked for by not telling me that you're not even from Earth," was his reply.

For the first time in a while, she dared to look up at him. So handsome in his white suit, even with his fists balled at either side, his face contorted in anger. But she knew that his physical features didn't matter if he was ugly on the inside.

None of this mattered if that was the case.

"I suppose I should leave then."

"I suppose you should."

She nodded and turned. She sped-walked from the room, not surprised that she didn't hear his footsteps behind her. He didn't care about her.

She went to her room and pulled out the largest purse that she had bought, sad now that she had not bothered to buy a suitcase. She folded a few shirts and pants as small as she could and stuffed them inside, along with under clothes and a few toiletries. She stepped out of the pink dress that she was still wearing, took out the pearl earrings, washed away the makeup, clipped her hair back. She slipped into a plain tank top, jeans and sneakers.

She walked to the front door, her vision blurring.

Thorne was nowhere to be seen.

She opened the door and stepped out of the house, making sure not to look back, and let the door close behind her as she stood on the pavement.

She sucked in a breath but when she let it out a strangled sob escaped her. She covered her mouth, but a waterfall of tears kept falling despite her efforts to hold herself together.

She was on her own.

Again.


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks for all of the reviews! Even if I don't get the chance to reply to some of them, I DO read them and appreciate them and use them as my motivation to write more. This story will be ending in either the next chapter or the one after that, depending on how my writing it flows out from my vague outline. Keep reviewing and enjoy :)**

* * *

Scarlet rubbed her hands together, trying to warm them from the chill of the night as the retina-scanner ran across her right eye. With a quiet ping, the scanner lit up green and she heard the lock to the front door open.

It was 1 o' clock in the morning, but Scarlet didn't care. She had to see Thorne. She hadn't seen him in three weeks. He was always gone before she could serve him breakfast and he was staying late at the office nowadays. When she had called to ask why, he had said that he was busy and hung up on her.

Plus, what worried her even more-so, Cress was nowhere to be found. Scarlet had grown accustomed to their teamwork in cleaning the kitchen and their conversations as they went about their chores. She was a sweet girl. Certainly she would have said goodbye if she had found another means of work?

The house was starting to get filthy, as Thorne no longer seemed to be worried about keeping it clean. Even before Cress, he had managed to keep the house generally clean on his own. Now he was leaving out dirty bathroom towels, glassware all over the house, his bed was unmade, his clothes strewn about…

Something just wasn't right. And Scarlet Benoit was going to find out what.

She stepped into the house, clapping her hands so that the lights in the living room popped on. She quickly walked up the stairs, intent on going to Thorne's room and waking him up to demand answers.

But as soon as she rounded the corner, she noticed a certain door open. The door that was _never_ open. The light was on, spilling out into the hallway, illuminating the way as Scarlet stood just out of the light's reach.

"Thorne?" she finally called. Even with the door opened wide open, she was slightly afraid to go near it. When she didn't receive an answer, she took a deep breath and slowly walked into the doorway.

From there she could see him. He was sitting at a cherry-wood desk and he had wireless earphones in his ears. They were turned up so loudly that she could hear a small thumping beat in the midst of the silence, explaining why he had not answered her call. Then she noticed that his hair lacked its normal volume and luster, instead sticking to his face and down his ears, as if he had not washed it in a really long time. Usually clean shaven, stubble riddles his cheeks and chin. His eyes had dark bags beneath them.

He looked like a zombie.

She moved into the room, finally catching his attention. He leaned back from the computer and papers strewn across the desk until his back sunk into the leather chair. Then he slowly removed the earbuds, placed them on the desk and picked up the glass filled with a brown liquid and sipped at it.

The silence was making her uncomfortable…no, _irritated_. How long was he going to sit there and stare at her, sipping his stupid drink?!

"What are you _doing_ ," she spat out.

He sat the glass down, traced the top with his pinkie finger. "I'm the one that she be asking you that, Red."

"Don't call me that," she said, scowling at him. She slammed her hands down on the desk. "Why are you drinking at one in the morning on a Monday?"

Thorne groaned and ran a hand down his face. "Why are you in my house at one in the morning on a Monday? I can play this question game all day, by the way."

Scarlet scowled harder.

"Fine," he finally said, "if you must know, I'm doing work. I deactivated by assistant-droid, Darla, because I wanted to do my work myself. But now I'm a bit behind and overbooked. I've got a lot of modeling ventures lined up but my businesses have things that I need to look over. Happy now, P. I Scarlet?"

Scarlet hmph-ed and moved her curly hair over her shoulder before folding her arms over bosom. "No," she replied, "Where is Cress?"

He looked down at the glass again, but didn't touch it. "No longer employed here. Don't worry, I will be hiring a maid service to clean up around here. I just haven't gotten around to it yet."

"Okaayyyy," Scarlet drawled. "And no longer your girlfriend, I assume?"

This time he took the glass. "Bingo. You're a smart cookie, aren't you Scar?"

"Your sarcasm isn't appreciated," she retorted. Then she sighed and shook her head. Her being annoyed with him wasn't going to get them anywhere…even if he was being a jerk. "What happened?"

Thorne shrugged, narrowing his eyes at the glass as if it had offended him. "She didn't want to clean up behind me anymore."

She didn't appreciate his dry-humor. Her temper flared before she could really think about it. She rounded around the desk in record time and pushed him in his expensive leather chair across the room. He blinked in confusion, his eyes larger than normal. Finally, an expression that didn't make him look half-dead!

"Don't you _dare_ talk about her as if she were just a maid to you! Especially after you selfishly exposed her to the entire world with that stunt you pulled in the amusement park! If she's not here, then where is she? The paparazzi will be all over your break-up if they get wind of it if _you_ don't handle this delicately or if she decides to see someone else! So. Where. Is. She?" she asked through gritted teeth, poking him in the chest.

He stood up then and looked down at her, his blue eyes unwavering. "Scarlet, I have no idea where she is. She left. She…," he swallowed, looked away, then looked back. "She saw me as a hero. She wanted me to save her. But I can't save her from who she is, and I can't save either of us from who I am."

"What-," Scarlet started, but Thorne moved past her, swaying a bit as he walked, and cut her off before she could continue.

"Don't abuse your freedom to enter my house anymore, or I'll fire you. Take the day off without pay, as punishment for doing so in the first place. See yourself out."

He left the room then, leaving her in the forbidden room with a sense of total dread and a ball of worry deep in the pit of her stomach.

* * *

She had to get out.

Plus, she couldn't keep surviving on Chinese take-out and pizza every night.

She had grown accustomed and spoiled by Scarlet's homemade meals. Now was the time to put all of that time watching people cook on net-screens to good use. Besides, her hotel room had a stove. What was the point of paying for such a nice suite if she didn't utilize the amenities?

It had been three weeks now since Cress had left Thorne's home and checked into a hotel. She was supposed to be looking for an apartment, but she wanted to find a stable job first. For now, she was working through her savings from the money she had made as Thorne's maid.

Then again, there was the _other_ option. With the threat of the Lunars still over her head, she still had to choose if staying in the city was a good idea.

Cress stepped out into the day, squinting at the sunlight that she had barely seen as of late. Her days now mostly consisted of reading, singing loudly and badly to sad songs and eating things that weren't exactly high on the nutritious scale. She had cut out the world, afraid that she would see Thorne's face on the newsfeed or even a holographic billboard.

Making her way to the grocery store, though, felt good at least. Perhaps she would add taking a walk to her daily schedule. Maybe she should get a dog so that she could have a companion. Though she had effectively numbed her emotions these last two weeks, a part of her did realize that her health could be declining because of it. She looked skinny, despite all of the junk she had been eating. Iko probably would have fainted at the sight of her sickly pallor and unkempt hair.

 _I wonder if Thorne is as bad off as I am,_ she thought.

There it was again.

Why couldn't she stop thinking about that jerk? What did she care if he was eating healthy food or exercising without her? Of course he was. He was Carswell Thorne. He probably had new, busty women surrounding him right at this moment. It didn't take a newsfeed to tell her that.

"Oh my stars! Aren't you Cress?"

Cress stopped walking and looked behind her to see a fellow blonde, with longer hair and glossed-up lips. "It _is_ you! Carswell Thorne's girlfriend- er, ex? Are the rumors true? Someone took a picture of you two running out of some party, and Thorne looked _pissed_. He hasn't been responding to any media about the incident, so it's true right? Right? How'd you manage to snag him in the first place anyways? Man, if I had him I'd…"

The teenager kept rambling on, but Cress' heart was beating so hard and quickly that she could barely hear her over the sound of her own rushing blood.

"Excuse me," she finally managed to mutter, stepping past the girl who called after her. She began to run, the by-now familiar ache in her throat bubbling up again.

This was bad.

Really bad.

She ran until the streets started to look familiar again, ignoring the curious and strange glances that people were giving her. She barely registered where she had wandered to until she heard the chime of the bells above her head as she opened the door to the bakery.

"Welcome! Can I help- Oh, Cress! It's you!"

Winter came flurrying from behind the cash register, practically toppling Cress over with the bear-hug that she wrapped her in. It was all Cress could do to hold her in tears. Winter finally released her and pulled back, but frowned when she got a look at her.

"Is something the matter?" she asked, just as Jacin came from the back kitchen to find out what all the ruckus was about.

Cress looked between the two and shrugged, then shook her head. "W-well…I'm a mess, for starters."

"That's pretty obvious," Jacin replied bluntly, earning him a glare from Winter. He sighed, "might as well let it all out, Shortstuff."

Cress glowered at him for the nickname, but took the opportunity to finally let it all out. She had been trying so hard to keep her problems to herself, but judging from the girl from earlier, the entire world already knew the news.

"Thorne and I…we broke up." Saying it out loud sent a fresh stab to her heart.

"I'm so sorry Cress," Winter squeezed her hand and stared at her with her big brown doe-eyes. Cress gave her a watery smile in return, and Winter continued. "What happened?"

This was it. The inevitable. She had been lying for so long…and in the end it had only gotten her heart broken. What good would continuing to lie to her friends do?

"Can we talk about this in private?" she asked, noticing a customer entering the establishment and heading over to the pastries.

* * *

Cress hadn't been in Jacin and Winter's home since she was homeless. It was small, yet cozy. She thanked Winter for the mug of hot chocolate, taking a moment to sniff the comforting smell as it wafted up from the cup.

It was nearing the end of summer. The days were starting to cool down, especially at night, so Winter thought that it wasn't too soon for a warm drink.

She had just finished telling the couple her story…her _real_ story, from beginning to end. Winter's eyes had filled with tears when she'd recounted her long days of living in a satellite, clapped when she had escaped to Earth, frowned when she had wandered the streets, ultimately deciding to create a fake identity and broken into Thorne's building. She told them what had happened at the benefit's ball and how it led to her and Thorne's falling out. Finally, she explained to them her fear that the Lunars that had been invading Earth recently would end up killing her because of the fact that she was a shell…or worse…report her to the queen.

After all was said and done, Cress felt as if a weight had come off of her shoulders. She was glad that she had made two friends that she could trust with all of this information.

If only she had trusted Thorne too to begin with, maybe she wouldn't have this constant ache in her heart.

"The Lunars are dangerous," Jacin said, his grip on his mug tight. He looked up, his eyes intense.

"If there is anything we could do to help you, we will!" Winter continued, "oh, you could stay here! Perhaps you could hide out into the government stops the Lunars?"

Cress shook her head slowly. "I'd rather not live my life feeling trapped again," she admitted. "There are rumors that there's a place where Lunars go in Africa…I read it in a file when I was on the satellite," Cress said. She sighed and bit her lip. "I'm not sure of the exact location, but at least there hasn't been any word of the news of those Lunars going there."

"You'd go all the way out there? By yourself?" Jacin narrowed his eyes, leaned back.

"I'd rather not…but I can't ask anyone to go with me," Cress said softly, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. _It's not like I have much left other than heart-ache here anyways._

"If you leave, Cress-friend, you shouldn't leave with any regrets."

Cress' eyes met Winter's.

"You should talk to Thorne and try not to leave on such bad terms," Winter explained further. "I'm sure that you don't want to wonder _what if_ for the rest of your life."

"He's an idiot," Jacin added, "but at the amusement park, it seemed as if you two really had feelings for you. Are you really willing to just let that go?"

Cress knew she wasn't.

But she wasn't exactly ready to speak to him again either.

 _If only he didn't hate me…_


	9. Chapter 9

**LAST CHAPTER ALERT!:**

 **I want to thank each and everyone one of you who reviewed, faved and/or subscribed for alerts. I didn't get to update as often as I wanted to, resulting in this story almost taking a year to write, so I am especially thankful for those who stuck it out to the end with me. Plus, tomorrow is my birthday so I got to complete something before I turn another year myself! I do not know if I will be writing again for this fandom, but I still love these characters so I might. For now, I have picked myself up a copy of Ms. Meyer's new book, Heartless! I hope it's just as good!**

 **Thank you, thank you, thank you. Please leave a final review to tell me how you enjoyed the story overall. As usual, _constructive_ criticism is fine! There are many things that I have learned from writing this story and would do differently, but I like the way it turned out for the most part. So without further adieu, I present to you the last chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

He thought things would come together.

They weren't.

He saw her in his dreams- could feel her weight next to him bed only to open his eyes and realize that she wasn't there.

He thought he could just go back to his life before he met her. Somehow, throwing himself into work would snap him back into his real self. He was still a handsome millionaire with incredible business savvy. He was still Carswell Thorne.

So why didn't he feel like it?

When Scarlet had left his home last week after finding him a state of drunken sorrow, he had finally stopped drinking, shaved, bought himself several new suits and plastered a dashing smile on his face. He had even hired a maid service to clean up around the house.

Everything should have been coming together by now.

He ran and ran along the sidewalk, breathing in the cold pre-sunrise air, the sound of music pumping through his wireless earbuds. He was wearing the only hoodie that was in his closet and a pair of matching gray sweatpants.

" _Okay, what's on your mind," he smirked and put his chin in his palm, amused at the inquisitive look on her face after he had poured them each a glass of white wine, halfway to the brim._

 _She looked up at him with those big blue eyes and tilted her head to the side, reminding Thorne of a small, cute animal._

" _What do you think, Captain? Are these glasses half-empty or half- full?"_

 _He held in his laugh. "Really? An age old question, Cress?_

" _Well, it's relevant!"_

 _He smiled, opting not to point out her cute pout this time around. "I don't know, sweetheart. I guess it's half-empty. What do you think?"_

 _She concentrated on the glass for a second before answered. "I think it's half-full."_

 _Thorne snorted. "How is it half-full when there can be more?"_

 _She played with a hair strand and bit her lip. "Because there was nothing there before, of course."_

 _He sat back and raised his eyebrows. He hadn't thought about it like that before._

 _He supposed that was the difference between them. She was optimistic about life like that and he wasn't. She had started with nothing and he had started with everything yet he still wanted more, more, more._

Thorne rubbed his eyes, trying to dismiss the memory, trying not to think what he was about to think- but it was too late.

 _You were empty before you met her and that's why you're empty again without her._

He slowly stopped running until he came to the front of his home. He was exhausted, ready to get back in the bed and sleep this Saturday away. He scanned his retina, opened the door into the darkness and stillness of his home, pulling off his hoodie that was soaked with sweat.

"Hello Thorne."

"WHAT-!" Thorne nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of the unexpected voice. He stared into the darkness as his eyes slowly adjusted, now recognizing several figures sitting in the darkness of his living room. He clapped his hands loudly and the lights popped on, revealing Cinder, Iko, Scarlet, Wolf, Jacin, Winter and Kai sitting on his couches and chairs, some of them even sipping out of mugs as if _they_ lived there and not him.

"Aces, you guys almost gave me a heart attack," he said. "What the hell are you doing in my house?"

"Intervention," Cinder said lowly, her brown eyes meeting his with an intensity that was reserved for him when he did something stupid.

He groaned. "Look, if this is about me drinking so much, I've already stopped."

"Well that's a good start," Scarlet replied with a nod. She stood up and patted a chair that they had placed in the center of the carpet. "Now come have a seat."

"No. Way." Thorne shook his head and turned to leave. "I'm going to hit the hay. You all can just wander on out the same way you came in and stop breaking into my- hey!"

Thorne was cut off as Wolf's giant arm wrapped around his stomach, practically picking him up and carrying him back towards the chair. He felt his face heat up as embarrassment and anger filled him simultaneously. He squirmed and tried to budge his bodyguard's iron grip off of him, his legs kicking like a child's beneath him. "Let. Me. Go!"

"Sorry, I can't. You need to hear this," Wolf responded lowly, plopping Thorne down in the chair.

Scarlet smirked, obviously pleased.

Thorne scowled at her, with half the mind to fire her.

"Now that we've got your attention, Winter will tell you what Cress told her," Scarlet said.

"This is about _Cress,_ " Thorne seethed, "It's over between us! Just let it go already!"

"But Cress is running to Farafrah! She's going to use the money she saved up to get there and if she has to she'll sell her jewelry and clothes to find somewhere to live there," Winter said practically in one breath. "And she wants to get a job, perhaps helping in the technology field down there!"

Everyone stared at Thorne expectantly. His eyes roamed from each face, feeling a bead of sweat roll down his temple. He could hear his heartbeat thudding in his chest.

She was leaving.

And she hadn't even called to tell him.

She didn't care what he thought about it. Of course not, what did he matter? They weren't dating anymore.

"So why are you telling me," he finally said, though it felt like he wasn't even saying it. For some reason, he felt as if he were underwater. His ears were clogged up and his breathing felt a little hitched. But he had to put on a brave-face. He _had_ to get them to leave him alone.

If Cress didn't want him, then why should he want her?

"Because you can get her to stay!" Iko said, jumping up from her seat. Her long, blue braids swung around. "S-she can't just go there all alone, right?"

"I'm guessing you know that she managed to crash her satellite all the way down to Earth and survived for months here on her own by now," Thorne drawled, "she can take care of herself.

"You're being ridiculous," Jacin stood up now too, his eyes narrowing. "With all of the money you have, you could at least help her. Make sure she's going to be safe."

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Thorne stood up as well, marching towards Jacin. Now he was getting angry. "Oh, that's right. You and half of the people in here are my _ex-_ girlfriend's friend. So why are you in my house? You think that's alright because we hung out _once_? I should just call the authorities on you."

The room grew quiet.

"I quit."

"Me too."

Thorne turned eyes to Scarlet and Wolf, who stood next to each other.

"Fine," Thorne said through clenched teeth.

"I quit too," Iko mumbled, "get someone else to cut your precious hair."

"Easily done," Thorne responded.

"Thorne…" Cinder said.

He flinched. _Not you too, Cinder…_

"I won't be repairing your hovers anymore. I'm sorry. But I can't work- no," she swallowed, clenched and unclenched her fists. "…I can't be friends with someone who can't even face his feelings. Or himself."

She turned to leave while Thorne stared at the ground. He could hear the shuffling of everyone else moving as well. He watched their feet march out of the door and heard the door slam behind them, leaving the aftermath of silence to ring in his ears.

Everyone he cared about had just walked out of his life.

He finally lifted his eyes and was surprised when a tear slid down his cheek. He wiped at it quickly with the back of his wrist. Carswell Thorne didn't cry.

"Aces," he muttered, running a hand through his hair.

" _Are you nice to your employees?" she asked, gripping his tie and giving it one final push upwards to tighten it._

 _He had to admit, he did have a way with picking out maid outfits. With Cress, it was best to go with cute and slightly flirtatious, not totally sexy. He loved seeing her in it during the week, even if she blushed crimson when he mentioned it._

 _He grinned deviously. "Probably not as nice as I am to you."_

" _Well, my tip of the day is this: Remember that employees are people too."_

" _I'll be sure to keep that in mind," he replied._

" _Your smirk says otherwise."_

" _I'm not smirking!"_

" _Suuureee you aren't," she laughed, gave his suit one final pat, and pushed her hair behind her ear. "Have a good day at work, Captain."_

" _You too, Cress." With that, he was out of the door and off to work, ignoring the quickening of his heartbeat. Surely such a simple interaction couldn't have affected him. No, he probably had just had too much coffee this morning._

* * *

He needed to drown his thoughts. Excessively drinking wasn't going to do anything but give him a hangover in the morning, so he chose something different.

He walked into the club that he had not set foot into in months. The music was so loud that he could feel the bass reverberating in his chest. Save for the different colored spotlights swinging around the room, the entire place was so dark that he could barely make out faces unless he was standing close enough. Bodies gyrated against each other, creating a heat in the room that he could feel immediately upon entering.

He slipped off his jacket and swung it across his arm and proceeded to unbutton his two top buttons on his button-up shirt. He moved through the crowd, trying his best not to bump into too many people.

The place was packed.

He finally made it to the bar and took a seat on an empty stool.

"What can I get you?" the bartender flicked his blond hair out of his eyes and grinned.

"An Old Fashioned is fine," Thorne replied.

"Make that two."

Thorne raised his eyebrows and looked up to see a woman grinning down at him. Her emerald colored eyes contrasted boldly from her dark locks that fell thickly on her shoulders. The lights of the club reflected off her sparkly midnight blue mini-dress.

"This seat taken?" she asked, raising her voice to be heard properly above the music. He shook his head no, resulting in another grin from her as she slid into the stool to his right. "How's your night going?"

"Looks like it just got better," Thorne replied smoothly.

Bam. There it was. He smiled a little to himself; maybe getting back to the _real_ him wouldn't be so hard after all. He just needed the right push…or the right woman.

The bartender sat their whiskey-mixes in front of them. As the woman reached for her purse, Thorne pulled out his card from his wallet and handed it to the bartender. "I'll buy," he said, taking a sip of his drink.

She folded one of long legs over the other and turned to face him.

She was such a stark contrast to Cress that it took him aback a bit that he was attracted to her. He was glad that he could still appreciate a tall, dark and lovely beauty such as herself.

"So I already know that you're the one and only Carswell Thorne," she told him, never taking her eyes away. "But I'm sure that you don't know that I'm Melanie Ivaka."

"Melanie… _stars,_ I'm sorry. I couldn't recognize you in this darkness," Thorne sat up a bit straighter, "plus your hair is darker now."

"You like?" her ruby-red lips parted into a knowing, teasing smile.

"Love it."

Melanie Ivaka was a quickly-rising star in the model industry. She had even just gotten her first movie role, albeit a small part, but Thorne was impressed nonetheless.

She continued to chat him up and they both went through two more orders of drinks. As her eyelids began to lower, the proximity between them began to grow smaller. He tried to remember at what point she had placed a perfectly manicured hand on his knee.

"Oh!" she suddenly exclaimed, causing Throne to jump back in surprise. She bounced up and grabbed his hand, pulling him from the stool for the first time since he had arrived nearly two hours ago. "I _love_ this song. Let's dance."

He staggered onto the dance floor behind her. Cress wasn't a fan of loud dance clubs, so it had been awhile since he had pulled out his moves, but Melanie was on it. He found himself pushed against a wall, her body moving sexily against his.

When she turned and brushed her lips against his neck, he felt a jolt run through his body.

He was finally awake again.

This was who he was- Thorne, the most eligible bachelor around.

He had fun with women, with no commitment necessary. No strings attached. He was fool for trying to hold himself back then. He was a fool for pretending that he needed anything more.

He put his lips against her ear so that she could hear him easily against the music, "let's go back to my place."

She leaned back and nodded, green eyes twinkling. She turned and started sashaying towards the exit. He followed, quickly using his net-watch to signal for his ride to pull up outside. When he left the building, the cool air felt refreshing after having been amid so many bodies previously. He didn't even care as rain sprinkled down from the heavens lightly.

Melanie, on the other hand, huffed and crossed her arms over her ample bosom.

Once the hovercar arrived, they got into the back, and she wasted no time in climbing into his lap, relieving him of his jacket and kissing him.

Her long limbs seemed to envelope him.

 _She was tiny, but cute and sexy in a way that was different than any other._

He squeezed her waist, waiting for a cute squeak that never came.

A wave of annoyance crashed over him but he pushed it back. He couldn't expect her to react just how he wanted her to….

 _He couldn't expect her to be like her…_

The car ride was over soon and they both tumbled out of the hovercar. She laughed and he smirked and led her to the house.

His bachelor pad.

No one would be waiting inside.

He didn't feel like offering her a drink. Besides, Melanie seemed like the type of girl who knew what she was here for and didn't mind having just that.

He led her straight to his room and she pushed him right onto the bed. She smirked and pushed the sleeves of her dress off her shoulders, slowly and seductively coming out of the dress.

 _He had had many pillow fights in his time, many of them ending up with him on top of a girl or vice versa. They always ended up that way._

 _That was nothing new._

 _What was new for him was the way his heart had hammered against his chest when Cress had looked down at him, her lips slightly parted, her face so close that he could see every freckle sprinkled across her cheeks, her short hair practically falling into his face._

 _He knew that it wasn't just that he wanted to sleep with her- of course he had had to muster up every ounce of strength in his body so that he wouldn't react…but it was something more. Even just a kiss would have sufficed._

He blinked the memory out of his mind.

Melanie kissed at his collarbone, unbuttoning his shirt slowly. When she looked up, he wished that she wouldn't. Her eyes were so intense, it was unnerving.

"You must be excited to be with a _real_ woman again," she suddenly whispered. Thorne swore his heart stopped. Melanie ran his hands down her curves. "You must've been wishing for a body like this, right?"

Thorne immediately stood up, causing Melanie to stumble backwards and look up at him in surprise.

"Get the hell out of my house."

"W-what?" she stuttered, grabbing her discarded dress and standing at the same time.

"You think you're a _real_ woman just because you have curves," he started, his eyes narrowing, "but that's not what makes a real woman, Melanie. You should go leave and go figure that out. _Now._ "

"You- you pig!" Melanie shouted. "Thanks for wasting my time, jerk." Even as she slipped back into her dress and shoes, Thorne was already reaching for his phone and dialing.

She slammed the door behind her, but Thorne barely registered it.

"Answer, answer…" he mumbled to himself. When she didn't, he tried again. When she didn't answer again, he called Scarlet.

"Thorne?

"Red, where is she?"

"Cress?"

"Aces, of course Cress!"

There was a sound of shuffling. Voices.

"I TOLD YOU HE'D CALL!"

Thorne narrowed his eyes. He suddenly felt a headache coming on. "Is that…Iko, I hear?"

"Thorne, we're all here with her, having a small going-away party at the hotel she's staying at before she leaves for Farafrah tomorrow."

"Ping me the address and don't let her leave, Scarlet. Or you're seriously fired this time."

"Thorne-"

He hung up.

He had to get there.

Because it wasn't about sex.

It wasn't about money.

It wasn't about being the most eligible bachelor.

He couldn't function without her. He couldn't imagine a life without her. He couldn't just give up because she was Lunar and he was in the public eye.

He couldn't just let her go without a fight.

* * *

Cress was shaking so badly that she couldn't even hold the glass of water that Cinder offered her. When Scarlet had picked up the phone and said Thorne's name it was as if her entire world started to move in slow motion.

She thought she had steeled her heart against any residual feelings for Thorne. She was ready to go start her new life far, far away from him.

At least, she kept telling herself that she was.

She didn't want him to come here and crumble the wall she had carefully constructed in the couple of weeks since they had broken up. There was no use now. He had been right about one thing: she couldn't stay here. It was too dangerous.

"I have to get out of here," she said more to herself than anyone else in the room. All eyes were on her as she stood to her feet and started towards her suitcase.

"Woah, woah, woah," Kai held up his hands in front of Cress, effectively blocking her from making a beeline out of there. "You have to at least listen to what he has to say."

She shook her head back and forth slowly. Clutching her arm, she explained, "it's no use, Kai. Whatever he has to say isn't worth it. I'm doing what he wanted…I'm _leaving._ "

"I thought you didn't want to leave on bad terms," Winter pointed out.

Cress hesitated, frowning. She _didn't_ want to leave on bad terms. One of the last things she could remember saying to him was, _"I thought I knew you…I thought you were a good person"_ when she knew good and well that he was a good person, even though he had initially freaked out about her being Lunar.

"I've been his friend for a while now," Cinder spoke up, "and I know you and I don't know each other very well, Cress, but trust me…that idiot wouldn't be coming all the way here for nothing."

Cress bit her lip and shook her head back and forth.

"I don't think I can," she whispered, her throat tightening and her eyes filling with tears.

* * *

Thorne had never felt this rushed to get somewhere in his entire life- not even when he was late to his photoshoot as Man of the Year in Stars Above Magazine.

He crashed through the front lobby, demanding that the android before him tell him what room Cress was in immediately, before he remembered that Scarlet had already sent him the information and made a mad dash to the elevator before the android even had the chance to answer.

As the elevator moved upwards, the numbered buttons going up by with each floor he passed, he tried to rehearse in his mind what he would say, but everything he thought of sounded cheesy or dramatic.

Not that he ever cared about being dramatic, but this had to go perfectly if he wanted her to answer affirmatively.

As he stepped out of the elevator and walked to room 416A, he sucked in a steadying breath. He lifted a hand to the door and knocked three times, his heart seeming to pump a bit harder with each knock.

The door opened to show Iko grinning at him like the Chesire cat. He immediately peered behind her, taking in everyone except Cress.

He swallowed thickly.

Where was she? Had she run away from him? Why wasn't anyone saying anything?

"Where is she?" he asked, eyes on Cinder since he deemed her to be possibly the sanest person in the entire room. When everyone remained quiet, he pleaded, " _Cinder._ "

"What would you say if she were here, Thorne?" Cinder replied. "Just…just look at me and tell me."

Thorne clenched his hands together and turned away towards the door, "I'm not going to waste my time here. I'll find her myself."

As soon as he took a step, Wolf stepped into his path, green eyes narrowed. "She's gone. So just say it. It'll make you feel better."

Thorne resisted the urge to punch Wolf in the face. No matter how angry he was getting, he didn't want to fight the guy he had hired to be his bodyguard.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, turning back to Cinder with a defeated expression. "I'd tell her that I love her…and that I was wrong for sending her away…that I should've found a way to work things out. But now that opportunity is over…" he cringed, "is she already on a flight? Why didn't any of you take her there?"

"Because I'm still here."

Thorne's eyes flew to the other side of the room, where Cress stood in the now open doorway of the bathroom. Her blue eyes were misted with tears, but there was something strong and solid there too.

"Well, now I know not to trust anyone in this room," he half-joked.

Cress gave him a watery smile that almost crushed his heart into pieces all over again. He reached out a hand for her and she hesitated, but slowly made her way towards him. The rest of the people in the room started to shuffle behind him, whispering excitedly.

She slipped her hand into his and he pulled her close immediately, wrapping one arm around her small body and used his right hand to cup the back of her head. "I missed you," he spoke quietly but truthfully. It felt as if his body had suddenly turned into gelatin. He had to hold himself back from kissing her, or he'd never say what he had to say. "And I'm sorry, Cress. I shouldn't have reacted that way."

She nodded into his shirt and he was suddenly aware of the wet patch growing where her face was.

When she finally pulled away, her small round face was streaked with tears as she looked up at him. "I- I forgive you…b-but it doesn't change anything. I still have to leave."

"No way!" Iko suddenly shouted. "Thorne will totally let you stay with him. Right, Thorne? Right?"

Everyone else seemed just as eager for his answer as they stared at him with big, expectant eyes.

Thorne answered, "No. She can't stay with me."

"Whaaaattt?" Iko screeched.

"So Cress-friend really does have to go?" Winter asked, frowning and gripping Jacin's hand.

"I didn't say that," Thorne allowed himself a smirk, then turned back to Cress. "But I do have another proposition for you."

"What is it?" Cress looked nonplussed, but willing to hear him out nonetheless.

Now was the time. His heart hammered in his chest hard- something that only seemed to happen when he was around Cress. Surely this girl would be the death of him one day. But for now, he wanted to live by her side.

"Cress, all of my life I've been hiding behind the fact that my riches were based on illegitimate means. So when I met you, I thought it was natural for me to continue the legacy and do whatever I had to do to get more money. But money isn't everything… _this_ is. But you aren't accepted in this society and that is something that must be dealt with. I have to do something good in my life. If you let me, I want to redeem myself in your eyes and get you citizenship at the same time."

"How?" Cress' voice was just above a whisper, so transfixed was she on what he was saying.

"We have to save the world."

"Thorne, be serious!" The magical spell broken, Cress threw his hands down and huffed. "That isn't funny!"

"I _am_ being serious," Thorne replied, "I know it sounds crazy, but what we need right now is crazy. Look, you're a Lunar who was on a satellite hacking and doing all types of crazy stuff for the queen right?"

"Right," Cress looked as if she was about to roll her eyes, but Thorne ignored it.

"Right. That means you have all types of information the government could use. We'll just go over and parlay for you. They'll protect you, and if they don't, we'll get out of there together."

"Together?

" _Together._ I'm not letting you out of my sight again."

Her smile was enough to let him know that she agreed, or at least that she was thinking about it.

But the kiss that she suddenly initiated dispelled any doubts from his mind immediately.

Even with their ragtag group of friends in the background clapping and cheering in the background, Thorne felt as if they were the only two people in the room.

He couldn't believe that once upon a time he had found a girl hacking into his technology systems in one of his computer labs.

She had broken down all of his walls- tore through them effortlessly with her intelligence, quiet beauty, strength and kindness.

He smiled against her lips.

She certainly was not just a maid anymore.

* * *

Cress could feel him smiling against her lips. Her heart fluttered in response.

Once upon a time, she had thought that happiest moment in her life was when Thorne had welcomed her into his home as a maid. She had done all she could to learn to clean his house to perfection.

Somewhere along the line she had found herself falling for him…and hard.

She had wanted nothing more than to be by his side as _something more._ And now she was.

Days later, after all of their friends had gone to their respective dwellings and she went _home_ with Thorne, they were boarding the Rampion, which was apparently Thorne's most prized possession.

She sat beside him as he flicked switches and turned knobs. "Are you sure you know how to fly this thing?" she asked.

"Oh, come on sweetheart, I didn't have you call me captain when we first met for nothing."

"Oh? I thought it was for your ever-inflating ego," she teased.

"Ha ha," he fake-laughed.

He turned and squeezed her hand. "You sure you're ready for this? We don't have to do this if you don't want to. We can just move to Africa. I'm sure I could be a sexy millionaire entrepreneur and model there too."

Cress shook her head, "no…I want to do this…let's do something… _good._ For once in my life, I want to be useful to the good guys."

"Me too," Thorne agreed, flicked one last switch. Cress braced herself as she suddenly felt the Rampion roar to life. "Let's go on an adventure, sweetheart."

Cress couldn't help but grin as they lifted into the air.

After all, with Thorne by her side, she was ready for anything.


End file.
